Tanzania sees 85.5 percent increase in access to power as boost to its clean energy campaign

DAR ES SALAAM: THE Energy Minister Juma Homera has said access to electricity in the country has increased from 78.4 per cent in 2020 to 85.5 per cent, a development that is helping expand opportunities for the use of clean cooking energy.

Speaking to journalists at State House in Dar es Salaam, Homera said the achievement goes hand in hand with government efforts to promote the use of clean cooking energy across various institutions in the country.

He said a total of 2,745 institutions are currently using clean cooking energy, including 129 prisons and 2,626 other government institutions.

He added that the government has distributed 139,859 improved cookstoves and 37,792 gas cylinders to promote clean cooking energy and reduce dependence on firewood and charcoal.

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Homera said President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s directive to establish a Special Clean Cooking Energy Fund would accelerate government efforts to ensure more citizens, particularly those living in rural areas, gain access to clean cooking technologies.

On Tanzania’s participation in the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), he said it had strengthened international cooperation in accessing climate financing, technology and investment.

He added that the cooperation had also opened up new opportunities for developing energy infrastructure and increasing the utilisation of domestic resources, including natural gas.