THE Ministry of Energy has embarked on maintenance of power infrastructure countrywide to curb interruptions in various parts of the country.
Minister for Energy, Dr Medard Kalemani, said current power interruptions in various parts were not due to power shortages, but improvement and maintenance of infrastructure.
Dr Kalemani told the Parliament that the government, through the national power utility, Tanesco, had set aside 2.5bn/- in every region for infrastructural maintenance.
He gave the announcement yesterday when responding to Mr Atupele Mwakibeta (Busokelo-CCM), who in his question wanted to know the cause of current power interruptions in many parts of the country.
Dr Kalemani said contractors had been given six months to ensure the renovation and maintenance of power infrastructure were done, noting that some of the tasks included replacing small transformers with big ones.
He expressed the ministry’s apology to members of the public for inconveniences caused by power interruptions, thus calling for patience as the government had better plans for reliable power supply.
In the basic question, Ms Mary Chatanda (Korogwe Urban-CCM) wanted to know when would power interruptions in Korogwe District be fixed as members of the public had been incurring losses and damage to their properties due to power woes.
Deputy Minister for Energy Subira Mgalu said power interruptions were caused by ongoing maintenance and infrastructural development as at times contractors had to switch off power to undertake renovations.
She outlined other renovation and maintenance works included a change of poles, tree cutting in the electricity lines among others.
However, she said the exercise when done, members of the public would be assured of reliable power supply and thus involvement in socioeconomic activities.
Ms Mgalu said in most cases, Tanesco in Tanga Region as well as Korogwe District had been issuing advance power interruption notices so that members of the public could plan their activities in advance.
