Govt institutions steal electricity.

Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals Charles Mwijage.

Installation of Luku prepaid meters in government offices that began in September last year has failed to cut down on the huge debt owed to Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) by the institutions.

 

The institutions owed Tanesco Sh195.08 billion by the end of last year, The Guardian has learnt.

 

Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals Charles Mwijage said the installation of the LUKU prepaid meters was supposed to help Tanesco recover the huge debt from government institutions but it has been discovered that some of the institutions have been stealing electricity.

 

Deputy Minister has directed Tanesco to submit a report of institutions that steal electricity for further disciplinary action. He asked the electricity company to start working on the two Dar es Salaam and Coastal zones which will involve Lindi and Mtwara Regions.

 

 “Some of the institutions have been stealing electricity but when caught they normally run to the courts of law and accuse Tanesco of disconnecting electricity. Where we identify a customer stealing electricity we normally calculate by approximation and ask them to pay the amount but they turned around and went to the courts of law,” he said.

 

He said Tanesco was producing electricity at high operation costs but some unfaithful people steal the electricity which could not be tolerated because the government was losing a lot of revenues and which, in turn, curtailed the company’s efforts to supply electricity to other customers in the country.

 

In the same line, the minister said that Rural Electricity Agency (REA) project will be accomplished by the end of June this year.

 

Tanesco Public Relations Manager, Adrian Severin  told The Guardian this week that the debt had increased by Sh66.08 billion compared to the last year’s debt whereby in 2013 government institutions owed the company a total of Sh129 billion.

 

Severin said that until September 2011 individual customers and private institutions owed the firm Sh 349.45 billion compared to Sh306.06 billion of December 2014, adding: “Because of such debt Tanesco is failing to accomplish its activities in a specific period of time.”

 

“I call upon all institutions to comply with orders and regulations and pay their electricity bills and debt accordingly or face disconnection,” he added.

 

According to Tanesco Managing Director Eng. Felchesmi Mramba, government institutions owe the utility Sh129bn of which Zanzibar owes Sh70bn.

 

Individual customers and private institutions owe the firm Sh104bn said Mramba, adding that Tanesco has decided to launch a special campaign to collect the debt. He called on customers to pay up what they owe or face disconnection.

 

In September last year Tanesco started replacing manual power metres with prepaid electronic metres commonly known as Luku so as to improve its revenue collection capacity from government offices and institutions.

 

Eng. Mramba said that Tanesco was expected to complete the switch by December last year, adding that installation of the prepaid metres at all government offices and institutions will help collect its unpaid bills.

 

He said that after fixing the prepaid metres all debts that the government and its institutions owe Tanesco will be collected through deductions done whenever they recharge their metres.

 

“We have informed all government offices and institutions like the military camps, prisons and police posts and they have all agreed that this is the best way forward,” he said.