afrol News, 21 January - Tanzania's main power utility has rationed power supply in the country's capital, Dar es Salaam, after what the company called a network failure on Monday at Kidatu Hyrdo Power Station in the eastern town of Morogoro.

According to a press statement issued by Tanzania Electricity Supply Company, a 220KV circuit breaker had failed on the supply line from the company's Kidatu Hydropower Dam to Dar es Salaam, causing power shedding on the national grid.

"The problem first occurred on Sunday and repeated on Monday and Tuesday, only to cause some parts of Dar es Salaam to lose power supply for hours during the day and at night," the statement said.

The rationing which is affecting more than 3.5 million people in the capital, is meant to balance the use of low power supplies during peak hours when high consumption of electricity is expected.

The normal power of 220KV on the Kidatu-Dar es Salaam power line is to be reduced to 188KV, according to the company's press statement.

In September, the company shocked Tanzanians when it unveiled a power rationing schedule of up to 10 hours a day blaming it on chemical problems on one of its major power plants.

The East African state of about 40 million people suffered extensive power cuts in 2006 after drought slashed its hydropower production.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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