TANESCO Engineer Lyson & Neema Visit Huaci’s plant

Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) is a parastatal organization under the Ministry of Energy and Minerals. The company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity to Tanzania mainland and sells bulk power to the Zanzibar Electricity Corporation (ZECO) which in turn sells it to the public in islands Unguja and Pemba. TANESCO owns most of the electricity generating, transmitting and distributing facilities in Tanzania mainland.

The German colonialists established the first public electricity supply in Tanzania (which was then called Tanganyika) in 1908 at Dar Es Salaam. It served the railway workshops and a part of the town where the colonialists were mostly staying. When the Tanganyika territory was mandated to Great Britain in 1920, a government electricity department was formed to take over and operate the public supplies left by the Germans.

In 1931, the Government handed over the undertaking at Dar Es Salaam and those elsewhere upcountry (Dodoma, Tabora and Kigoma) to private enterprises. One of these companies was the Tanganyika Electric Supply Company Ltd. (TANESCO) which was established on 26th November 1931 and another company was the Dar es Salaam and District Electric Supply Company Ltd (DARESCO).

TANESCO commenced operations in 1933 by operating a diesel power station at Kange in the outskirt of Tanga; By 1936 the company had constructed a dam 90m long across the Pangani river and had commissioned two generators totaling 5MW. Concurrently with this, over 400km of supply lines were erected. In 1947, 1952 and 1959 three more sets were installed, bringing the total capacity up to 17.5Mw, its present value.

By 1945 the major part of the assets of the company was invested in supplies to sisal industries in the area. This “one-crop load” aspect of the supply entailed obvious risks. In 1945, the company sought permission to export power to the port of Mombasa in Kenya, partly to diversify its customers.

By an agreement dated February 12, 1948, among the Tanganyika government, the Kenya government and TANESCO, TANESCO was authorized to export surplus power from the Pangani falls power station to Mombasa, subject to certain conditions designed to safeguard supplies to consumers in the company’s Tanganyika concession. The supply was provided by a transmission line some 135 km long erected on concrete poles. This contract was terminated in 1965.

DARESCO’s early years of operation were occupied in constructing a new power station at Kurasini in Dar Es Salaam, upcountry i.e.1936 (Mwanza), 1937 (Moshi), 1944 (Arusha) and in 1950’s new branches were established at Tabora, Dodoma, Mbeya, Iringa, Lindi, Mtwara and Morogoro.

After Tanganyika goes its independence on December 9, 1961, the government showed its interest to purchase shares from two private companies.

Between 1964 and 1975 the government purchases all the shares from the two companies.