MADOPE Power Co., carrying out a 12-hour power rationing on 12 villages in Ludewa District from its 1.7MW hydropower station, will now sell its power to the government controlled utility, TANESCO, to end the rationing.

Energy minister January Makamba said the government has decided to buy all the power generated by the company to enable the people to get reliable power supply. At present only 0.3MW is supplied out of the 1.7MW generated, he said, underlining that the company will also get its revenue. The purchase is a solution in regard of the rationing by the power firm set up by the Lugarawa power user community and the Ludewa District Council.

The power rationing arose from the low tension cable for supplying power compared to actual power needs by consumers using electricity for various economic activities. These include sunflower oil processing plants and grain milling.

Addressing Lugarawa village residents, the minister said Tanesco officials will be dispatched to the area later this week to assess power transmission and sign an accord enabling that by next February Ludewa residents will be getting reliable power supply.

The power station at present has 3,200 consumers, with the power being supplied to health centres, five secondary schools, 19 primary schools and one orphanage centre.

Madope hydropower project stakeholders include the Rural Energy Agency (REA) who provided 4.1bn/- for it to take off.

Meanwhile, residents of Makete District in Njombe Region are happy with start of implementation of the 1.4trn/- hydropower project signed in 1998 on the Rumakali water course.

They told the minister during the visit that they had already despaired about the project but now their hopes have been restored. Pastor Edna Mwihalagila, a resident of Makete, said women engaging in social activities are in a difficult spot without light or heat.

With adequate electricity, we will be able to preserve the environment as we will no longer use wood fuel for cooking.”

Nehemia Sanga, a resident of Kipagalo ward where the power station site is slated, said that people are used to hearing about the hydropower project but nothing was going on.

“With this news, the residents of the Kipagalo, Bulongwa and Inio wards are assured that benefits are on the way,” she said, noting that many residents will now have an opportunity to employ themselves in various income generating activities.

Project supervisor Toto Sedekiah said feasibility studies were conducted back in 1998 by Fred Power, an engineering firm, along with Mweno Consult, targeting 222kilovolt intensity of electricity. 

“They recommended the construction of an 870-metre ridge from this side of the water course to the other side, holding water in a dam having 256m cubic metres capacity covering a 13.2 square kilometres area,” he said.

The water will flow along a 7.4 kms gradient to the turbines built on a mountain with the water flowing through tunnels, he said.

“The water will be dropping at a depth of 1,294.5 metres that in turn will drive the turbines to produce 13.8 KV energy. But the produced electricity is small, hence we shall step it up with a transformer from 13.8 KV to 220 KV,” he said.

Electricity would then be transmitted to a substation 65 kms away – at Iganjo area where part of it will be transmitted back to the area’s residents and the rest injected into the national grid, the supervisor noted.

To update the 1998 feasibility study assessment, another consultant has been hired to assess technological changes needed since that time, he said.

Compensation relating to areas being taken over to pave way for the project is two portions, one covering the project site and another the road connection to Mbeya city.

Richard Muyungi, the TANESCO director of environment and compensation, said  

Buyongwa Hospital will lose a portion of its area where another hospital will be built.

In the road stretch to Mbeya, a portion will have to be rebuilt and TanRoads have been consulted on the issue, where about a 13.2 square metres area will be taken up.

Implementation of the project follows a directive from President Samia Suluhu Hassan, arising from intense pressure from Makete MP Festo Sanga.

“We shall start implementing the project using funds from loans that will be shown in government books in the following year,” he said, underlining that this will not hinder the government from proceeding with the project.

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