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| Tanesco Managing Director, Engineer Felchesmi Mramba. |
The national power utility firm is also expecting to change the vending system for its prepaid electricity consumption arrangement, LUKU (Lipia Umeme Kadiri Utumiavyo) among distributors - from the Eclipse system to 3E (Eclipse Enterprise Edition) one.
Addressing a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Tanesco Managing Director, Engineer Felchesmi Mramba, said the gas energy production projects include the construction of Mtwara to Dar es Salaam gas pipeline and the Kinyerezi 1 Energy Project, which are expected to be completed by the end of next month.
“According to Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), the gas pipeline construction project is about to be implemented before it is connected to the Kinyerezi Plant and then to Ubungo Plant for the production of electricity,” he explained.
Eng. Mramba commented that the utility firm was capable of producing energy by using gas up to 280 megawatts due to the limited plants. ‘’But as soon as the other energy production projects by using gas are in place, it will help to generate more than 600 megawatts.”
He went on to explain that for the past 10 years, the company had increased power production efficiency from 891 megawatts in 2005 to 1,501 megawatts in 2014, which is equivalent to an increase of 68.5 per cent. “The maximum demand of energy currently stands at 891megawatts.
However, with the plants that we have installed, we are capable of producing more than 1,500 megawatts at the moment,” he said.
Eng. Mramba noted that the use of gas in producing energy will help much in reducing the costs of producing energy by using fuel, while it will also stabilise both product availability and consumer price.
Mr Mramba added that the company is also implementing various projects for energy generation, which will help to stabilise the availability of power across the country, including the Nyakato project, Liwale project, Mtwara project, Songea project and the Somanga project.
He further said that hydro-electricity, which was once the main source of energy and to which the company depended by 80 per cent, could no longer be relied upon as a reliable source given the impact of climate change on water sources.
“Once all the projects for power generation, including the gas projects are in place, power cuts and insufficient supply will remain history,” he reassured the public.
On the side of transmission and distribution, Eng. Mramba said that the company is as well committed to making sure that the power generated reaches the targeted consumers for the betterment of the economy.
Speaking on changes in the LUKU system, Eng. Mramba said the current Eclipse System, which is being used by various vendors in selling power, was meant for only 600,000 customers, which the current system can no longer sustain given the increase in the number of power consumers.
He, therefore, said that they will from Saturday, August 1, introduce new system (3E, Eclipse Enterprise Edition), which has the capacity to serve a great number of LUKU consumers and vendors.
“This new system, which is indeed faster compared to the current one, will be introduced on Saturday; with the changes to take place within 24 hours during which time the sale of LUKU units will be suspended.
However, customers have been told not to panic as LUKU sales will continue as usual as soon as the new system is introduced the next day.
Meanwhile, the construction of the gas pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam has been completed and it is expected that gas would start reaching the city by next week.
By the same token, the generation of electricity by using natural gas and channelling it to TANESCO is also expected to start next month.
This was revealed by the Acting Managing Director of Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), Mr Kapuulya Musomba, when the institution’s Board of Directors visited the pipeline project to see its progress.
Mr Musomba said that by Saturday, gas will reach electricity generating plants at Kinyerezi One and Tegeta in Dar es Salaam.
He said that despite being able to reach Dar es Salaam by next week, it is expected that generation of electricity will start on September 6 or 7.
The Acting TPDC boss made the comment at Somanga Fungu station where there is machinery to receive natural gas from Songosongo and Mtwara before it is transported to Dar es Salaam.
He said that after trials to transport gas to Dar es Salaam are completed by September 15, they will start generating electricity, which will be connected to the national grid so that Tanzanians start reaping the benefits of natural gas.
“At the moment, Tanesco has equipment with the capacity to generate 200 megawatts, which is, however, not in use at the moment; so we expect to start generating 150MW of electricity from natural gas and connect it to the national grid,” he explained.
He also noted that they have already employed 30 people at the Kinyerezi One plant and 11 at Somanga Fungu. Mr Musomba told reporters that the 504 kilometre pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam has over 100 valves in addition to the 16 main ones, which can be shut down in case of any problem for safety purposes.
On his part, the Board Chairman, Mr Michael Mwanda, expressed his pride on the completion of the project, which will enable Tanzanians to enjoy the benefits of their own natural gas.
He said that he has been impressed by the professionalism exhibited by both local and foreign experts who have made the completion of the project possible.
Mr Mwanda pointed out that the completion of the pipeline will reduce electricity costs since Tanesco will now stop generating power by using machinery that uses fuel.
The project has cost 1.2 billion US dollars, equivalent to 2.4 trillion/- and it is believed that it will help save around one billion US dollars annually, which is spent to buy fuel.
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