Tanzania Electricity Generation Increase by 10.1% in Q3 2016

Tanzania’s total electricity generation rose by 10.1% in Q3 2016, from 1,550m kwh in 2015 to 1,706m kwh in 2016.

The results were included in a report recently issued by the Tanzanian National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), covering the country’s GDP performances for Q3 2016.

NBS attributes the growth to an increase in the quantity of power generated from gas, which contributed more than 50% of the total electricity generated in Tanzania in Q3 2016.

Hydro and thermal electricity generated accounted for 31% and 14.7% of the total electricity generation respectively.

In Q3 2016, electricity generated by Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) increased by 42.3%, while generation by Independent Power Producers (IPP) declined by 34.8%.

TANESCO generated 75.2% of Tanzania’s total electricity; the remaining 24.8% was generated by IPP, including small scale plants.

Tanzania Electricity: Natural Gas

Tanzania’s natural gas production reached 11,060m standard cubic feet (MMSCF) in Q3 2016, compared to 8,353 MMSCF in Q3 2015 (+32%).

The recent discoveries of 57tn cubic feet of natural gas reserves off the coast of Tanzania have put the country on the world energy map.

The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) estimates that the country’s gas fields are large enough to cover the domestic power requirements and make Tanzania the next natural gas hub in Africa.