Govt steps up drive for 10.5tri/- private power grid investment
LONDON: THE government is aggressively courting international investors to fund electricity transmission infrastructure, utilising a reformed legal framework to mobilise over 4 billion US dollars (approx. 10.4 tri/- ) by 2030 to meet soaring national power demand.
The investment drive marks the operationalisation of long-term reforms, including a 2023 Cabinet decision that formally ended the state monopoly on transmission lines to pave the way for private sector capital.
Speaking at a side event during the London Climate Week in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, the Assistant Commissioner for Electricity Development in the Ministry of Energy, Engineer Styden Rwebangila, said tapping into private sector participation is now critical to bridging financing gaps and supporting the country’s industrialisation agenda.
The high-level event was organised by the governments of the UK and Brazil in collaboration with the World Bank under the Global Clean Power Alliance (GCPA) Finance Mission initiative.
Eng Rwebangila revealed that Tanzania plans to add about 3,700 megawatts of electricity generation capacity to the national grid by 2030 to guarantee universal access and power heavy industries.
He noted that the National Energy Compact explicitly targets the 4 billion US dollar private capital injection over the next four years to build the high voltage transmission lines needed to evacuate this incoming power.
According to the Assistant Commissioner, the groundwork for these opportunities was systematically laid through the foundational Electricity Act of 2008, its subsequent 2020 amendments and the landmark 2023 Cabinet resolution.
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These milestones transitioned the electricity supply industry from a rigid state-dominated system into an open, commercially viable market.
Meanwhile, regional peers are flocking to Tanzania to study its successful rural energy deployment.
Officials from Zambia’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA), led by Chief Executive Officer Alex Mumba, recently toured Vikonje A Hamlet and Chahwa Primary School in Chamwino District, Dodoma.
The tour is part of a structured bilateral experience-sharing programme between REA Tanzania and REA Zambia, aimed at exchanging technical knowledge and promoting the productive use of energy in rural communities.
Speaking after the field tour, Mr Mumba lauded Tanzania’s institutional framework and its ability to rapidly execute rural connections.
“One of the key lessons we have learned is that we share the same goal. We want electricity not only to serve as a social service but also to act as a vital catalyst for economic activities in the communities we serve,” the Zambian official noted.
REA Tanzania’s Rural Electrification Projects Supervising Manager, Engineer Deogratius Nagu, accompanied the delegation and emphasised that expanding rural energy access has systematically transformed local economies.
He noted that reliable power has not only boosted smallscale income-generating activities but has also modernised learning environments in rural schools, directly contributing to improved academic performance.
