Tanzania's strategic power transmission project linking the country to Zambia has reached 95 percent completion, the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) said on Thursday. The Tanzania-Zambia (TAZA) 400-kilovolt high-voltage transmission project, worth approximately 2 trillion shillings, will begin energizing its 620-kilometre power line running from Dodoma through Iringa to Kisada starting in November this year, according to Engineer Timothy Mgaya, TANESCO's Deputy Managing Director responsible for distribution.
To prepare for the project's activation, TANESCO will carry out maintenance work on the Zuzu substation this weekend, upgrading it to 400 kilovolts. This work will cause power interruptions across 11 regions. On Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15, Singida, Manyara, Arusha, Kigoma, Kagera, Tabora, Shinyanga, Simiyu, Geita, Mwanza, and Mara will experience power shutoffs from 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Mgaya said. The upgrade is necessary because some infrastructure has been operating at 220 kilovolts while awaiting upgrades at the Iringa substation, which are now nearing completion.
The transmission line will run from Iringa through Mbeya and Tunduma to Sumbawanga in Rukwa, with an interconnector from Tunduma to Zambia. The project includes substations in Iringa, Kisada, Tunduma (Mkangamo), Mbeya (Iganjo), and Rukwa. According to Deogratius Nyamtumbaga, a Project Engineer for Substations on the TAZA project, TANESCO will begin switching on the infrastructure starting November 25. Energization of the 400kV Dodoma-Iringa line will start on November 26, followed by the Iringa to Kisada section. From November 29, energization will begin from Mbeya to Sumbawanga.
The Dodoma substation will serve as the primary hub distributing 400kV power from the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Plant via Chalinze to the southern highlands, northern, and western regions. The weekend's work will also enable activation of a second 400kV transmission line from Dodoma to Singida, removing reliance on a single line. A second 250 MVA transformer will be installed at the Singida substation, doubling transmission capacity from the current 200 megawatts to 400 megawatts for the Lake, Northern, and Western regions.
Construction of the transmission line towers began in November 2023 and has reached 97 percent completion, while substation construction started in April 2024 and has reached 94 percent completion, Nyamtumbaga said. The total project cost stands at approximately 2 trillion shillings. By December 5, residents of Sumbawanga are expected to start receiving power directly from Tanzania's national grid instead of relying on imported electricity from Zambia. The remaining work involves testing, system verification, and final preparations to ensure efficient operation before official commissioning.