Tanzania has shut down five hydroelectric stations to reduce excess electricity in the national grid, the prime minister Kassim Majaliwa has said.
According
to Majaliwa, the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, has alone
generated enough electricity to power major cities.
Among
the cities that are being powered is Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial
hub.
“We
have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the
electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official
from the state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The
2,115 MW Julius Nyerere hydropower dam is said to be almost full of water,
following heavy rains that started early this year.
A
current spell of extreme weather has led to at least 58 deaths in Tanzania and
devastated other East African nations like Kenya.
It
is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed
hydroelectric stations as a result of excess production.
Post a Comment