Poverty and Human Development Report 2009 - UNDP in Tanzania

Customers Connected to Sources of Electricity
the hbs 2007 provides information about household energy use. connections to the electricity
grid have increased slightly overall, from 10% in 2000/01 to 12% in 2007 (table 8). however
the percentage of urban households connected to the grid has dropped, in part reflecting the
challenge of keeping pace with the growing number of urban households, as well as changes in
the classification of urban areas since the hbs 2000/01. nevertheless, the grid still predominantly
serves the urban population.
Table 8: Percentage of Households Connected to the Electricity Grid
Year Dar es Salaam Other Urban Areas Rural areas Mainland Tanzania
2000/01 58.9 29.7 2.0 10.0
2007 50.8 25.9 2.5 12.1
source: hbs 2000/01 and 2007
Main Source of Energy for Cooking
electricity is still the most common source of household energy for lighting in urban areas, but
kerosene use has increased (nbs, 2009). in rural areas, paraffin is the fuel used most often
for lighting. biomass is the main source of energy for cooking – 95.8% of the population use
firewood and charcoal, and among rural households, the use of charcoal for cooking has
increased from 4% in 2000/01 to 7% in 2007. despite declining between 1991/92 and 2000/01,
the use of charcoal for cooking in dar es salaam increased between 2000/01 and 2007 to 71%,
replacing paraffin as the most common source of cooking fuel. this may in part reflect the rise
in prices of fossil fuels in 2007. in the population as a whole, the use of charcoal has increased
substantially since 2000/01. given this continued use of firewood and charcoal for cooking, it
is critically important that fuel-efficient stoves and other technologies be adopted to minimise
environmental degradation.
Electricity for Production
the structure of electricity demand in tanzania is changing; industrial share of total demand
has increased from 38.7% in 1998 to 47.9% in 2008, while the domestic share decreased from
55.5% to 45.7% over the same period. 15 reliable and affordable electricity is critical for increased
production and growth, and there is urgent need to increase coverage and reliability to raise
productivity and enhance the competitiveness of domestic businesses.
firms consider that unreliable electricity is by far the most constraining factor in doing business
in tanzania (world bank, 2008b). businesses, large and small, are forced to allocate funds for
the purchase of generators and fuel, which directly increases production and operating costs
and reduces funds available for other productive investments. indeed, energy costs account for
more than 40% of total operating expenses in industries such as fish processing and cement
production. the cost of electricity is significant and income losses due to interruptions in supply
have been estimated to be between tshs 10-50 million per firm per annum (Mbelle, 2009).
15 data provided by tanesco in 2009.
Chapter I CLUSter 1 GOaL 6
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