Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO)

=Overview= Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) is a parastatal organisation under the Ministry of Energy and Minerals. The power utility company generates, transmits, and distributes for sale electricity to Tanzania Mainland and sells power in bulk supplied to the archipelago of Zanzibar. The history of TANESCO dates back to the colonial times. A first electric supply company was established by the German colonialists in 1908, serving railway workshops and a part of Dar es Salaam where the colonialists were mostly staying. When the Tanganyika territory was mandated to Great Britain in 1920, a Government Electricity Department was formed to take over and operate the public supplies left by the Germans. In 1931, the government handed over the undertaking at Dar es Salaam and upcountry power stations in Dodoma, Tabora and Kigoma to private enterprises. One of them was TANESCO - the Tanganyika Electric Supply Company Limited - which was established on 26th November 1931. The name Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) was formally adapted in 1968. Between 1964 and 1975, the government purchased all the shares and transformed the company into a national electricity company. Till today, TANESCO is wholly owned by the Government of Tanzania. By 17 June, 2010, TANESCO had 5,645 employees made up of 4,516 men and 1,129 woman.

=Functions=

Generation
TANESCO’s generation system consists mainly of hydro and thermal based power generation. In 2012, hydro power contributed 57 percent of the total power generation with gas and thermal power contributing the remainder. In 2012, the total amount of units generated was 5,759,756,313 kWh. TANESCO own generation accounted for 3,110,436,062 kWh with supplementary power of 2,649,320,551 kWh being supplied by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and neighbouring countries of Uganda and Zambia. TANESCO operates seven hydro-power stations: Kidatu (204MW); Kihansi (180MW); Mtera (80MW); Pangani (68MW); Hale (21MW); Nyumba ya Mungu (8MW) and Uwemba (0.82MW). In addition, TANESCO owns and operates gas-fired power plants using natural gas in Dar es Salaam: Ubungo I (100 MW), Ubungo II (105 MW) and Tegeta (45MW). TANESCO also owns and operates isolated grids that are supplied with power from thermal diesel or IDO power plants at 33 KV and 11 kV and has two gas-fired power plants serving Mtwara/Lindi (18 MW) and Somanga Fungu (7.5 MW).

Transmission
TANESCO’s transmission system comprises 43 substations interconnected by transmission lines. Transmission lines comprise 2,732.36 km of system voltages 220kV, 1,556.5km of 132kV, and 580 km of 66kV, totalling 4,868.86km by the end of May, 2014. Almost all the transmission lines are radial single circuit lines. The system is all alternating current (AC) and the system frequency is 50 Hz. The total installed capacity in the main grid system amounts to 1,396.24MW. The system is a hydro-thermal mix, constituting 561.84 MW (40.24%) hydro-power and thermal power (gas - 501 MW and liquid fuel 333.4MW) mainly from IPPs.

Distribution
TANESCO distributes power directly to the final consumer. It is estimated that over 80 percent of all TANESCO revenue is earned from only 1,700 Large Power Users (LPUs) who form 0.24% of all customers countrywide. LPUs are those customers that consume over 7,500kWh per month. TANESCO’s services reach only a minority of Tanzanians. According to the World Bank, only 15 percent of the Tanzanian population had access to electricity in 2011 (Energy Access in Tanzania).

Board of Directors
The following constitute the current TANESCO Board of Directors:


 * Dr. Mighanda J. Manyahi - Board Chairperson
 * Dr. Haji H. Semboja - Director
 * Dr. Mutesigwa I. Maingu - Director
 * Dr. Nyamajeje C. Weggoro - Director
 * Bi. Kissa Vivian Kilindu - Director
 * Eng. Boniface C. Muhegi - Director
 * Eng. Juma F. Mkobya - Director

=Recent Developments= In June 2014, the Government of Tanzania approved the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) reform and Roadmap 2014-2025 that seeks, among others, to divide TANESCO into three different autonomous entities: TANESCO will be responsible for electricity distribution only, whereas the other two new companies will be established and charged with the responsibility of generation and transmission, respectively. The aim of the reform is to increase competition, attract private investment into the power sector and ensure a reliable nation-wide supply of electricity. The government plans to invest US$ 1.15 billion in the next 11 years of reform and implementation. The new generation company will be state-owned and listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE), with the government retaining at least 51 percent shareholding. Different power generators (private and public) of electricity will compete in selling directly to distributors, retailers and final consumers. Transmission companies will be owned by the Tanzanian government and will facilitate the supply of electricity from generators to distributors who will operate as separate companies. The companies, which will either be public or private owned, will then sell power to retailers in their respective territories. Under the approved strategy, power generation is anticipated to increase from the current 1,583MW to at least 10,000MW by 2025 and increase electricity connection levels to at least 50 per cent and access levels to at least 75 per cent by 2025. Tanzania will be the third country in East Africa after Kenya and Uganda to unbundle the national electricity supply company. Kenya enforced a similar reform in 2009 that attracted private investors into the geothermal sector and significantly increased access to electricity. In 2015, the Government of Tanzania will establish a taskforce to monitor the implementation of the roadmap and carry out an evaluation of TANESCO’s generation, transmission and distribution segments. However, the ESI states that it is of utmost importance to settle first TANESCO’s debts if the reform process is to be successful. So far, TANESCO increased tariffs and received transfers from the Central Government to improve its financial standing.

=References=