ZANZIBAR WANTS TO AVOID POWER BILL

By James Mwakisyala

The Zanzibar Government is seeking to avoid payments of an outstanding Tshs 45 billion (US$29.80 million) in electricity bills it owes the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (Tanesco).

Zanzibar MP Mohammed Habib Mnyaa, submitted in the Tanzania Union Parliament in Dodoma last week, to ask the Union Government to intervene in the payment of the outstanding bill to Tanesco because part of the debt, Tshs 718 million ($475,500), was defaulted by the Tanzania Union Ministries of Defence and Home Affairs.

The MP wondered why the two Ministries hadn't settled their debts because they had budgetary allocations for the purpose. Zanzibar depends, for almost 100 per cent power supply from Tanzania mainland transmitted through submarine cables from Bagamoyo, while the twin Island of Pemba gets electricity from another submarine cable from Tanzania mainland at Pangani, also in Tanzania mainland.

However, the Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals, Adam Kighoma Malima told the House the debt, which accumulated between January 2008 and March 2011, was not the responsibility of Union Government.

Malima said the Tanesco and its Zanzibar counterpart, ZECO, had in April 2010 entered into a power purchase agreement and that the power debt was supposed to be paid in accordance with that agreement.

"In their agreement between Tanesco and ZECO of March 31st 2011 agreed to hire a consultant to assess the real liability of power generation and transmission to ZECO," the Deputy Minister informed the House.

Both sides hope the findings and recommendation by the consultants will enable the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) to compute the appropriate tariffs to ZECO and modalities of payment of the outstanding debt.

Zanzibar doesn't have domestic source of electricity apart from a few thermal generators thus the heavy dependence of power from Tanzania mainland.

In February 2008, the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $698 million 'Compact with Tanzania' aimed to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth by increasing household incomes through targeted investments in transportation, energy, and water.

Part of the fund, $206 million, aimed at improving the reliability and quality of electric power and extend electricity service to communities not currently served. Due to the lack of land-based sources of electricity generation, Zanzibar has mulled power generation from Indian Ocean currents.

Zanzibar is considering the possibility and feasibility of turning Indian Ocean currents and waves because, being an Island state is surrounded by the Indian Ocean and in swept by monsoon winds for long periods.

Ocean energy therefore constitutes a large unexploited source of renewable energy and wave power commands a good economical potential, but the challenge lies in the fact that the wave is in slow motion in Zanzibar whereas the energy demand can peak in high density.

Pemba Island, whose new 75km submarine cable link became operational in mid 2010 laid by Nexans company, has enabled the local population of 300,000 people to end years of dependence on unreliable diesel generators. The Pangani-Pemba submarine cable project was financed through a grant of 45m euros from Norway

Credit: East African