by Peter Sinkamba

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SUbDDENLY, ZAMBIA APPEARS TO BE MISLEADING THE PUBLIC THAT TANZANIA WILL BE OUR LOADSHEDDING SAVIOUR

So many stories are making rounds on news that Zambia is in a hurry to construct a interconnector to start importing power from Tanzania like yesterday. But does Tanzania have excess power to export to Zambia.

Tanzania, like Zambia is endowed with diverse energy sources including biomass, natural gas, hydro, coal, geothermal, solar and wind power and uranium, much of which is untapped.

Commercial energy sources i.e., petroleum and electricity, account for about 8% and 1.2%, respectively, of the primary energy used. Coal, solar and wind account for less than 1%.

At present, 21% of the population with about 7.4 percent in the rural areas has access to electricity.

The total grid installed generation capacity of both TANESCO’s power plants and private producers is currently at 1,438.24 MW.

Out of the total, only 561 MW is generated from TANESCO owned hydro power stations while thermal generation accounts for 658 MW.

National electricity connectivity is about 14%.

The contribution of non-hydro renewable energy for power generation is less than 5%.

Wood-fuel accounts for up to 90% of total national energy consumption, with about 2% from electricity and 8% from petroleum products.

Are you sure this Zambian government is serious with the Tanzanian connection?