Rural electrification efforts receive boost

Dodoma. The ministry of Energy is working on plans to connect more Tanzanians to electricity supplies.

It is racing against time to meet its goal of connecting up to at least 75 per cent of the population by 2033.

A 2016 Energy Access Situation Survey report that was published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Rural Energy Agency (Rea) showed that a total of 3,753, 615 out of 11,454,818 households in Mainland Tanzania were supplied with electricity from one type of source or another.

That was equivalent to 32.8 per cent of all households on Mainland Tanzania, a considerable rise from 18 per cent in 2011/12.

The findings of the study also showed that urban areas on Mainland Tanzania continued to have increased access to electricity, rising at 65.3 per cent annually compared to the access in rural areas of 16.9 per cent.

The ministry wants Rea to reach as many electricity consumers as possible.

For starters, the agency must ensure that all applications for electricity connection are fully processed by the end of February, this year – and that all ongoing power projects are completed by June 2021.

The ministry hopes that this will be attained by working to surmount some of the challenges that impede delivery of electricity to prospective consumers in rural areas.

According to an Evaluation Report for REA-funded Projects which was published in June last year, factors that impede the delivery of electricity in rural areas include the large number of customers vis-à-vis what the ongoing projects had planned for, as well as land disputes and low awareness among rustics across the land.

Oher challenges are difficulties in reaching some of the rural communities due to bad transport infrastructure, and delays due to cumbersome compensation processes for property owners forced to give way to new grid supply lines.

In apparent response to the difficulties in reaching some of the communities due to bad roads and others, Energy minister, Dr Medard Kalemani, delivered 25 brand new vehicles worth Sh3.1 billion to the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) to be used in the supervision of power supply projects that are being executed under the Rea programme.

Handing over of the vehicles was done at an event that took place in Dodoma yesterday.

Speaking after handing over the vehicles, Dr Kalemani called on Tanesco to use them solely for the intended purpose.

This is with a view to ensuring that people living in the rural areas eventually get the electricity they need for socio-economic development.

According to the minister, the rural electrification projects are greatly hampered by shortage of working equipment, including vehicles.

In the event, he admonished them against using the new vehicles to “transport charcoal and ferry passengers!

“Instead, they should be used to carry engineers and Rea technicians for the purpose of serving citizens who need electricity. Avoid wasting time in offices; you should instead go to the people and solve their problems,” Minister Kalemani said.