40,000 homes ‘to get power from mini-grids’
What you need to know:
- A total of $ 140,000 will be spent on the mini-power grid with the connection charges not exceeding $1,000 per village, according to Frederic Madry, the managing director of the Dar es Salaam-based company.
Arusha. Over 40,000 households in 160 villages across the country would be connected with electricity by 2020 through mini-grids to be installed by PowerCorner Tanzania, a firm established in 2015 to provide energy access to the rural areas.
A total of $ 140,000 will be spent on the mini-power grid with the connection charges not exceeding $1,000 per village, according to Frederic Madry, the managing director of the Dar es Salaam-based company.
He disclosed this last week at Ketumbeine village in Longido district,the first village in the country to be supplied with electricity under the scheme during the official launching of the project executed through funding Engie Africa, a French multi-national electric utility company.
About 60 households have been lighted up at the remote village located 45 kilometres from Longido, the district headquarters, and not connected to electricity from the national power grid with additional 20 new customers expected to be linked up next month. The target is to supply a total of 160 households with electricity at Ketumbeine from the 16 KW mini-grid plant. Electricity is generated from the solar panels installed overhead with back-up diesel generators.
