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Power tariffs set to shoot up in Zanzibar
2005-09-17 07:27:14
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar
Zanzibar State Fuel and Power Corporation said yesterday that it had sent a proposal to the Isles government to review electricity tariffs upwards to help the firm offset spiralling operational costs.
The firm’s general manager, Seleman Juma, said the proposed electricity rates were in response to a study conducted by the NetGroup Solutions of South Africa, which recommended an upwards review of the tariffs, if the firm is to operate commercially.
He told reporters that the proposed tariffs were given to the government in April this year, but they had not received a feedback on the matter.
However, Juma declined to disclose the proposed rates, saying it was up to the government to act on the recommendations of the document.
The general manager said his corporation was operating at a loss by charging 28/- per unit, which he said is below the Tanesco rate of 32/- per unit.
He said a review of the exiting power rates was inevitable, as the company’s operational costs had spiralled.
Juma said that the firm was incurring losses in the supply of electricity in Pemba because it has to purchase 500 tonnes of the industrial diesel at about 286m/- every month, while revenue collection totals 70m/- per month.
He said the rehabilitation of the generators at the Wesha power plant was completed early this month.
The rehabilitation, which took about five months, had ended the power rationing on the island, he added.
The general manager said the Norwegian government financed the rehabilitation with 2bn/-, while the Isles government contributed 101m/-.
He said the three Wesha generators have the capacity to produce up to 4.5 megawatts, while power demand for Pemba is 3.9 megawatts.
He thanked the Norwegian government for the support for the rehabilitation project saying it would help Zanzibar economically.
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