Power Grid

The generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Tanzania, is channeled through TANESCO, which is fully owned by the government and is responsible for 98% of the electricity produced in the country.

Currently (2020), Tanzania’s total power installed capacity is 1,602 MW of which 244 MW were added in the past four years. Tanzania’s electricity generation comes mostly from natural gas (48%), followed by hydro (31%), petrol (18%), solar (1%), and biofuels (1%). Tanzania also imports power from Uganda (10 MW), Zambia (5 MW) and Kenya (1 MW). The traditional dependence on hydropower combined with the droughts that are affecting the country, often result in power supply shortages.

To bridge the electricity supply gap in the country, TANESCO contracted Emergency Power Producers (EPP). The average electricity consumption per capita in Tanzania is 108kWh per year, compared to Sub-Saharan Africa’s average consumption of 550kWh per year, and 2,500kWh average world consumption per year. In 2019/20, 37.7% of all households in Tanzania Mainland are connected to electricity, compared to 32.8% in 2016/17