10 October 2006, by PowerNell. In 15 days from today the Mtera Dam hydro-power generators will stop due to low water level. If the dam dries up, five regions, namely Singida, Mwanza, Tabora, Mara and Shinyanga will remain in total darkness, until emergency power plants are activated. The managing director of Tanesco (Tanzania Electric Supply Company): "We will not be able to supply power to the northern part of the country. A 40 MW plant should be installed in Mwanza as soon as a supplier is picked out of the four being scrutinised."

Expected emergency generators

By mid-October two emergency generators were expected to be installed: a 22 MW gas turbine from Richmond Development Company and a 20 MW gas turbine from Aggreko. The Aggreko generators arrived in the country on September 25 and are expected to release electricity to the national grid this week. The Richmond generator was expected to arrive October 8, but it is still in the United States. However, all these generators and turbines are to be located in Dar es Salaam.
Before the end of the year, Richmond is supposed to install another two generators of 40 MW each. Due to the current problems with Richmond it is doubtful however whether this will happen. The ordered power plant of the Finnish Wartsila company will only arrive in the second half of 2007, and the other Aggreko 20 MW emergency generator will also not come this year. So by the end of this year, there is supposed to be an extra 120 MW only, and only if Richmond can deliver. For your info: the country needs 600 MW. It"s a disaster.
 

Who	What	When	Capacity
Richmond	Emergency gas turbine	October?	20 MW
Richmond	Emergency gas turbine	December?	80 MW
Agrecco	Emergency gas turbine	October	20 MW
Agrecco	Emergency gas turbine	?	20 MW
Wartsila	Power plant	End 2007	100 MW
Total			240 MW

 

Demand for power: 600 MW

During peak hours the country"s demand for power averages 600 MW. The exact amount depends on the time of the year, amongst others. The demand of the country increases by 50 MW per year (source: The East African, September 25, 2006). There even was a 10 per cent growth in power demand in the past six months, despite the current 12-hour, seven-day a week power rationing schedule (source: The Guradian, September 20, 2006).

Available power: 180 – 300 MW

According to Business Times, Tanzania has an installed electricity production capacity of 930.3 MW. About 587.5 MW of that is controlled by Tanesco – 561 MW of which is hydro-generated, and 26.5 MW diesel-generated. Furthermore there are eleven privately owned thermal power plants in the country, with an installed capacity of 342.8 MW in all. Business Times: "But the reality on the ground is quite different. Generation in recent weeks has fluctuated between 180 MW to around 300 MW." (Source: Business Times, October 6, 2006). The independent power producers include SonGas (about 180 MW), Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL, 100 MW), Kiwira Coal Mine (4 MW) and TanWat (1.4 MW) (source: The East African, September 11, 2006). To me it is not clear whether the smalller independent power producers are connected to the national grid. A few months ago there was something to do about disconnecting IPTL from the national grid, but I don"t have the article.
 
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