A Lesson in Electricity

Yesterday I switched on the TV and it happened to be on the channel for the Tanzanian national channel, TBC. And there I found the most unusual music video. There were 4 women dressed in formal dresses singing and swaying to music about how to conserve electricity (by switching off lights, rationing A/C use, etc). The backdrops for this music video were a lake with a hydro-electric dam, a power plant, and a power station (see pictures on left), not exactly your typical music video sets.

It was very interesting to watch this, as power and electricity (umeme, the SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY), have very much been the hot topics of the day. There's been huge controversy about the government electrical company succumbing to paying Dowans 94 billion Tanzanian shillings. The political outcry has been huge, and it's been an interesting case to follow (google it for the latest). Meanwhile, the electrical situation in the country seems to get worse by the day. The rains haven't been great, and rainy season hasn't fully started yet, meaning that the hydroelectric dams aren't supplying much. The government has been rationing electricity, so that sometimes it's on during the day, sometimes there's some at night (still haven't been able to really figure out the schedule). But it seems like these days, about half the time there is no electricity.

Since I work and live in places that have generators, I haven't felt the burden that most in the country are facing. I can sit here and write this email, spend all day in an airconditioned office, with the lights and computer running all the time. Meanwhile, many industries in Tanzania are suffering greatly and operating at well below capacity, which often has implications being able to pay the staff.

And in the midst of all of this spotty provision of electricity, the price per unit of electricity has gone up, so people are actually paying more to get less electricity. It's ridiculous.

So somehow this little music video by the government's electric company seems more than a bit ironic.

Interestingly, I had spoken earlier in the day with a colleague who had actually worked for a government entity here and had developed plans a few years ago to efficiently improve the power situation in the country, and had divided the country into areas with high potential for hydro-power, wind power, solar power, or a combination of two or more. He had detailed quick wins like purchasing turbines for certain facilities or doing simple rehabilitations. But somehow all of this thorough analysis remained in a nice little report that didn't get used. I could hear the exasperation in his voice as he talked about the current energy crisis and how much of this could have been averted.

But instead, the country is in uproar about the cost and scarcity of electricity, and those who turn on their TVs to watch the national channel get a public service announcement/music video telling them to conserve energy (psst - one way to do so is to turn off your TV).