DAR-ES-SALAAM – Due to a decline in hydropower production brought on by the drought, Tanzanian authorities have begun rationing electricity, according to the national provider, who warned that some districts could experience nine-hour blackouts.
With the help of natural gas, hydropower, and other resources, the East African country is able to produce close to 1,695 megawatts.
But according to Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited’s (Tanesco) managing director Maharage Chande, there is currently a 300–350 megawatt shortfall.
“Long-term drought and continuing maintenance at several of our plants are the two main causes of the shortfalls in generation,” Chande told reporters in the commercial centre of Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.
According to him, one of the impacted facilities is Kihansi in the south-east Morogoro region, whose output has decreased from 180 megawatts to barely 17 megawatts.
Water levels have dropped in the majority of sources, forcing plants to produce less than they could, according to Chande.
The controversial Julius Nyerere dam project, which will eventually generate 2,100 megawatts of electricity, is now being built in the Selous Game Reserve as part of the nation’s efforts to enhance its hydroelectric capacity.
The authorities in Dar es Salaam implemented water rationing last month as a result of a drought-related decline in water levels due to Tanzania’s poor rainfall and delayed monsoons.
