25 September 2006, by PowerNell in Dar es Salaam. The effects of power rationing are felt in the whole of Tanzania. Recently Arusha Times published some interesting figures on the diesel expenditures of some Arusha based companies. The Shoprite supermarket for instance is now using 18,000 litres of diesel per month to keep their generator running, which is costing them TSh 23,400,000 a month (about USD 18,000). At the central market the sales of the fish outlets have dropped from about TSh 200,000 to 20,000 a day, as most of the businesses cannot afford generators.

Power fluctuations

Even the companies that are spared of the load shedding are hit hard, as the power fluctuations and surges damage electrical appliances. A to Z for instance, one of the major manufacturers and exporters of mosquito nets, has seen its production go down by at least 20 per cent in recent months. According to the A to Z production manager six of the factory's machines have been damaged. The Shoprite supermarket experiences the same problem. The Shoprite manager told Arusha Times that recently their "freezers, baking machine, fridges, computers, UPS, motors, only to mention a few, were damaged by power surges. The other problem of course is that we are forced to dump a lot of foodstuffs that have gone bad because of damaged cooling equipment."

Song on the power misery

Power surge also caused the blow up of the musical equipment of The Sounds of Serengeti. This happened during a gig at the General Tyre grounds in Arusha. Band leader Peter said the sudden "explosion" has caused about TSh 1 million (USD 770) of damage. As a reaction the band has composed a song about the power misery. They can probably only play the unplugged version... The band is very welcome to publish the lyrics on this log.

Comments of Tanesco

Approached by Arusha Times for comments, the regional manager of Tanesco said power rationing schedule has been changing frequently depending on water levels at the power generating dams. On low voltage and fluctuations, he said such problems are normally experienced when there is power rationing. "With such high consumption demand compared with the low generated capacity, definitely voltage must be low and as a result, fluctuations are caused," he said.
Source: Arusha Times, Matilda Kirenga, September 16, 2006: Tanzania: Business Community Sheds Tears Over "Load Shedding"
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