Tanzania shut down hydroelectric stations to cut excess electricity

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.