Finally the power is back Zanzibar

12.03.2010
For the second time in 2009, a damaged undersea electricity cable connecting Zanzibar with the mainland leaved the entire island without electricity. This time for three month!

Since 1983, Zanzibar’s most populous island Unguja has received its electricity from Tanzania’s largest water power plant in Kidatu. Electricity is transferred to Zanzibar through an undersea cable. Power outages are a fact of life in Tanzania. Fortunately though, they are usually of limited duration.

While power outages are a nuisance to the general population, some – such as those selling diesel generators – benefit from them. Many of these generators do not live up to customer expectations and fail within days. Car garages therefore frequently end up repairing them, working late into the night.

The solar energy industry is another beneficiary of power outages. The ZASEA NGO (Zanzibar Solar Energy Association), an independent branch of Tanzania’s Solar Energy Association (TASEA) for the Unguja and Pemba islands (Zanzibar) is an example. Registered as an NGO in 2006, ZASEA, which started in the German-Tanzanian Partnership association’s “Solar lamp workshop at Kizimkazi Mkunguni School” aims to promote renewable energies through awareness creation, training, lobbying and public relations.

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