Ministry, Tanesco form joint task force to arrest pervasive illegal connections Announce power supply back to normal

By Nyendo Mohamed

The ministry�s Head of Communication, Badra Masoud

 The Energy and Minerals’ ministry and the state owned power monopoly, Tanesco have formed a joint task force charged with hunting and bringing to justice all persons behind illegal power connections that are pervasive across the country.

 

Making the announcement yesterday in Dar es Salaam, the ministry’s Head of Communication, Badra Masoud ordered Tanesco to also improve its customer auditing team if the initiative is to be successful and efficient.

 

Noting that in recent years, Tanesco has been overwhelmed by the increasing cases of illegal power connections that has occasioned the state run firm huge losses; “the ministry has formed a team of experts from different institutions to work on the matter,” she announced.

 

“We are working to identify all who connect utility lines illegally and we will take legal action against them,” Masoud said.

 

“The team involves officers from the Ministry and Tanesco in collaboration with other security organs,” she said.

 

“In our inspection exercise, we found 19 per cent of energy produced is lost because the customers don’t use energy properly,” she said.

 

She also took the opportunity to warn vandals against destruction of electricity infrastructure citing tempering of transformers and stealing of their lubricants.

 

In a related development, the ministry’s Head of Communication said electricity supply countrywide is now back to normal despite a drop of water levels in key dams and announced that there will be no more power rationing.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN