Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Rural Energy Agency (REA) plans to implement and complete nine power projects expected to connect electricity to 332,016 customers in 2021/2022 financial year.
REA Director-General, Hassan Saidy said that the projects will involve the construction of 29,677 kilometers for medium power transmission lines and 14,183 kilometers for small transmission lines.
He said through the projects, a total of 7,013 transformers will be installed and connect electricity to 332,016 customers at a cost of 2.237 bn/-. “Of the nine projects, four are in progress while five of them are indifferent procurement stages,” he said.
Commenting on the third phase project which is due to completion, Saidy said that it will supply electricity which will supply power in 37,610 customers at a cost of 8.8tr/-.
“This project will involve the construction of medium power distribution lines with 103,673 kilometers and small distribution lines with122, 152 kilometers, installation of 37,105 transformers and connecting 2,689,138 customers.” Mr Saidy said that REA is currently implementing renewable energy in areas that are not connected to the national grid, especially in islands.
A feasibility study which was conducted found that the Mainland has a total of 143 islands that have permanent human settlements, of which 72 islands have been connected to electricity, he said. REA plans to facilitate the construction of power generation systems using solar in 47 islands by December 2022.
He said REA is also implementing a project of improving power distribution infrastructure in rural areas with a capacity of 132/220kV with 2,546 kilometers, construction of 36 new power stations, and expansion of 15 power stations at a cost of US dollars 609.6million. Saidy further said that the agency is in the final stages of preparing a strategic plan for rural electrification which will include preparations of distributing electricity, access to better cooking energy, and implementation costs.
“The aim of this plan is to provide vision and way forward on how rural energy projects can be implemented,” he said. He noted that the ten-year plan from 2021 to 2030 will be an alternative to National Electrification Program Prospectus which ends in 2022.
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