TANESCO’S POWER SHEDDING BLUES: Songas to install new turbines

Two gas turbines capable of producing 35MW of electricity each could arrive today – and could be ready for on-site delivery tomorrow, in efforts to avert creeping power shedding in the city, it has been learnt. Messrs Songas placed an import order for the two gas turbines to replace defective ones shut down last month and the two new ones will get connected to the national grid by the end of this month, reliable sources told the 'Daily News' yesterday. Installation of the two gas turbine acquired on lease could take at least two weeks and a further week of commissioning, the sources said, adding that the utility firm, Tanesco, had been duly informed about these arrangements. The sources -- which declined to disclose costs of leasing the gas turbines – only said that one of them was from the Netherlands and the other from the United States. Songas was forced to import the two turbines because it does not know when two out of its three turbines which were grounded on September 22, this year, will return to service. The company grounded three gas turbines with a total capacity of 106MW last month, forcing the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (Tanesco), to introduce power rationing last month -- before one of the 40-MW Songas turbines returned to service five days later. The sources said that the two defective gas turbines would be airlifted to yet an undisclosed destination and it was not immediately clear whether the two turbines would be repaired and later flown back to Dar es Salaam. Meanwhile, the Aggreko 20MW plant which developed some technical hiccups was resuscitated back to life last Tuesday night. According to a Tanesco statement yesterday, resumed power generation reduce the firm’s power deficit by at least 20MW. Tanesco announced earlier this week (Tuesday), that it was slapping back power rationing country-wide, following a sudden breakdown of the firm’s 100MW transformer at its Ubungo gas powered plant – causing a loss of 40MW. The 20MW Aggreko facility had also failed -- causing a further 60MW power deficit