Tanzania Low-Cost Connections Assessment: Draft Implementation Plan

The program aims to promote utility commercialization and equitable, effective reforms that enhance the financial viability and long-term sustainability of developing countries' electricity systems. As part of this effort, SRUC works with USAID missions around the world to support demonstration projects, education, workshops, and in-country experience that improve developing country electricity sectors. The national utility Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) has added more than 800,000 customer connections to its network since 2012, with over 1.9 million customers. Despite this progress, there are still large numbers of potential customers who remain unconnected, even in urban and periurban areas of Dar es Salaam and other population centers. The Government of Tanzania's Ministry of Energy estimates that electricity access has reached more than 30%, implying that approximately 15 million people are physically located within the vicinity of the grid. The SRUC Team conducted a Low Cost Connections Assessment (LCCA) to help close the gap between the population that is actually connected to grid power and the population that is physically located within reach of the grid but has been unable to connect. Using data from a household survey conducted by MCC, the Team conducted an analysis to assess specific household wiring barriers that limit the number of new customers connecting to the electricity grid. The assessment examined the demand profile of existing/potential customers of TANESCO and designed a decision matrix to evaluate what different types of technologies may be most appropriate for safely installing internal wiring for new urban/periurban customers at a lower cost to the consumer. The cost associated with house wiring and the time it typically takes a consumer to connect are among the most significant barriers faced by unconnected urban households in Dar es Salaam. The core analysis presented in this report focuses on the identification of options for lowering these primary barriers to connection. The options found herein are presented with the understanding that the ability to lower either one or both of these barriers to connection can present real opportunity to scale new connections in Tanzania and thereby advance the primary connection goals set forth by the U.S. Government's Power Africa initiative. The report considers the comprehensive cost of internal house wiring and connection for a new customer, which includes house wiring material costs and house wiring labor costs. The wiring options available to homeowners are bounded by the following rules, regulations, standards, and accepted practice: the Standard for design, manufacture, and testing of ready boards for use in Tanzania issued by the Tanzania Standards Board (TBS); wiring regulations as prescribed under the Electricity Act of Tanzania and issued by the Institute of Electrical Engineers of the United Kingdom, BS 7671, 17th Edition; and other relevant regulations and guidelines.