Tanzania will boost the proportion of citizens with access to electricity to 25% by around 2013, the country’s energy minister said on Friday.
Only about 10% of Tanzania’s 40-million people currently have access to electricity, and the government plans to focus its efforts on the poorest living in rural areas.
”We had an aim of boosting electricity access to 25% by 2010, but because of some delays, it will be achieved by about 2012 or 2013,” Nazir Karamagi, Minister for Energy and Minerals, told a news conference in Dar es Salaam.
Tanzania experienced severe power shortages and rationing for most of last year as increased demand from economic activity outstripped generation capacity.
Most Tanzanians live in rural areas, and Karamagi said only 1% of those have access to electricity. ”Even if you put five trillion shillings, it will not be enough, because the country is literally not electrified. You are starting from scratch,” he told reporters.
Tanzania generates about 561 megawatts (MW) of hydropower and another 183MW from natural gas.
At the start of the year, the state-run Tanzania Electric Supply Company said it planned to add another 200MW by the end of 2008, with a quarter of that due by the end of this year.
The company projects that annual demand will rise to more than 1 100MW by 2010 and plans to add another 75 000 new users to its grid by the end of the year. — Reuters