Local Management of Rural Power Supply

The report examines a shift in Tanzania's rural electrification strategy from a centralized utility model (TANESCO) to locally managed cooperatives. It focuses on the Urambo Electric Consumers Co-operative Society (UECCO), which took over a diesel-powered system in 1993. Key findings indicate that while local management improved service reliability and financial performance compared to TANESCO's isolated branches, the cooperative struggled with high fuel costs, inadequate bookkeeping, and the need for high tariffs to ensure sustainability. The report also evaluates the use of Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) and photovoltaic (PV) systems, concluding that CFLs and fluorescent tubes are more cost-effective than incandescent bulbs, while individual PV systems are generally more expensive than centralized diesel supply unless the latter is severely under-utilized.

• Rural electrification in Tanzania has historically been a significant financial burden on the national utility, TANESCO, particularly in isolated diesel-supplied areas where fuel costs are approximately three times the average sale price per kWh.
• The transition from un-metered flat rates to metered energy charges in Urambo significantly reduced the average system load from approximately 77 kW in December 1994 to 41 kW in June 1997.
• Rural consumers in Tanzania showed a higher willingness to pay for electricity than previously assumed, with UECCO charging 0.56 USD/kWh in July 1997, far exceeding TANESCO's residential tariffs of 0.033 to 0.037 USD/kWh.
• Rehabilitating old generator sets in Urambo proved to be an inefficient use of funds; the cost of spare parts rose from an initial estimate of 29,000 USD to 55,935 USD by the end of 1995.
• The load structure in Urambo shifted between 1994 and 1997, with lighting decreasing from 59% of the connected load to 30%, while appliances (including a dramatic increase in video players from 15 to 47) grew to 70%.
• Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) and fluorescent tubes are more cost-effective than incandescent bulbs in Urambo; CFLs are beneficial if they last more than 673 hours at the current tariff.
• Individual photovoltaic (PV) systems are generally more expensive than traditional diesel-supplied systems for lighting in villages like Urambo, unless the traditional system's capacity is utilized at less than 50%.
• The UECCO project faced significant managerial shortcomings, including a failure to hold annual general meetings and a lack of audited annual accounts for 1995 and 1996.
• Electrification in Urambo provided specific benefits for women, including improved security and easier meal preparation, though it did not lead to the creation of new industrial activities.

APA

Gullberg, M., Katyega, M., & Kjellstrom, B. (1999). Local Management of Rural Power Supply. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Gullberg-LocalManagementOfRuralPowerSupply-1999.pdf

Chicago

Gullberg, Monica, Maneno Katyega, and Bjorn Kjellstrom. Local Management of Rural Power Supply. Stockholm Environment Institute, 1999. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Gullberg-LocalManagementOfRuralPowerSupply-1999.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gullberg |first1=Monica |last2=Katyega |first2=Maneno |last3=Kjellstrom |first3=Bjorn |title=Local Management of Rural Power Supply |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=1999 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Gullberg-LocalManagementOfRuralPowerSupply-1999.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gullberg1999local, author = {Gullberg, Monica and Katyega, Maneno and Kjellstrom, Bjorn}, title = {{Local Management of Rural Power Supply}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {1999}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Gullberg-LocalManagementOfRuralPowerSupply-1999.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }