27 August 2017, Dar es Salaam – Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) will from now onwards be guided by international purchase power standards and make rid of unjustifiably high prices offered by some investors, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Eliakim Maswi, has said.
He made the announcement on Tuesday after visiting Liganga Iron Ore and Mchuchuma Coal Mine during his eight-day visit of various projects under his Ministry.
“From now onwards, we have agreed that we will follow international prices when it comes to transportation and construction prices, we will not go for unjustifiable prices as was the case before,” he told the mines management.
He said those seeking to enter into memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tanesco should bear in mind that international tariffs before putting forward their proposals.
“Unjustifiable prices will put Tanesco into more problems and we are not prepared for that as we are putting efforts to make it debt free by 2015, so that locals can enjoy better prices for power,” he observed.
He said that the majority of MOUs want the prices between 9 and 12 US dollars while the international price stand between five and seven US dollars.
“Construction and transportation prices should not exceed 500,000/- per kilometer as the hiked prices have made Tanzania to be among the most expensive in power tariffs,” said Maswi.
He also urged them to generate 250 MW power and sell to the neighbouring villages while Tanesco can think of purchasing the remaining 350MW should the need arise.
– Tanzania Daily News