Browsing: Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam

• Climate change is causing droughts, which, in turn, are to blame for the persistent power cuts in Tanzania.
• To address this challenge, Tanzania projects that completing the 2,115MW Julius Nyerere hydropower dam will double the country’s hydro capacity.
• Currently, approximately 95 per cent of Tanzanian households rely on biomass for fuel.

Tanzania power cuts are becoming increasingly common, with blame apportioned to poor infrastructure maintenance, drought, flooding, and huge gaps in the country’s electricity production.

The net effect is, however, all too obvious: millions of dollars in lost opportunities for families and businesses as they are forced to endure long hours without electricity.

The irony is that Tanzania enjoys one of the biggest energy potentials in Africa, enough to produce adequate electricity for domestic needs and exports.

“Maintenance issues and climate change-induced water shortages have caused a 400-megawatt electricity shortfall in Tanzania, triggering power rationing across the East African nation,” …

The Julius Nyerere Hydropower dam is an ambitious energy project and one of its kind across East Africa, with the capacity to generate 2,115 megawatts. The project cost $2.6 billion and is currently the most significant contract handled by Egyptian companies in Africa.

In August, it was reported by the Tanzanian Minister of Energy, January Makamba, that construction of the dam reached 67.18 per cent. The real work on the ground kickstarted in December 2018, which spanned out Tanzania’s government’s ambition to enrich its energy capacity from all fronts.

Further, the dam is 131 meters high and 1,025 meters long at the summit. The constructors managed to complete the tasks 687 days after the diversion of the river in November 2020 (Tanzania Times).

Tanzania’s electricity generation is comprised of several sources. Hence the dam stands to vitalize power availability and change the state of installed capacity. At least 48 per …