The projects-Iringa-Shinyanga (Backbone Transmission Investment Project) which will be interconnected with Kenya grid and the Iringa-Mbeya which will be connected to Zambia are scheduled for completion in 2018 and 2019, respectively. This would the country to trade power with neighbouring countries.

 

This was revealed in Dar es Salaam yesterday by the deputy permanent secretary in the ministry of Energy and Minerals, Dr Juliana Pallangyo, during a one day Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) executive committee meeting.

 

She said Tanzania was missing a chance to trade power with other Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member countries due to not being interconnected.

 

By connecting the country's grid to Zambia's, she noted, Tanzania would be automatically inter-connected to all SAPP member states.

 

Tanzania, Angola and Malawi are the only SADC member states which weren't inter-connected since SAPP was established in 1995. Apart from trading power by being inter-connected to SAPP, a country could rely on power from other countries during a crisis, Dr Pallangyo explained.

 

"We are fully committed to the implementation of Zambia-Tanzania interconnector that would see our country connected and benefit from SAPP," Dr Pallangyo stressed.

 

According to Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (Tanesco) acting managing director Decklan Mhaiki, the country had for many years suspended inter-connecting power projects due to lack of funds."But now funds for Iringa-Shinyanga-to-Kenya have been secured and construction will commence anytime, while the Tanzania-Zambia project is currently under feasibility study; the World Bank and Bank of France have shown interests to fund the implementation of the projects," he said. SAPP Chairman Josh Chifamba remarked: "Tanzania is potentially in good position in the energy sector with the ongoing gas discoveries which will be used to generate electricity."

Source : allafrica.com