The government has ordered an independent investigation into the nationwide power outage that disrupted electricity supply across Tanzania on Saturday, directing experts to establish the cause of the failure and recommend measures to prevent a recurrence.
Energy Minister Deogratius Ndejembi issued the directive on Sunday during a visit to the National Grid Control Centre in Ubungo, Dar es Salaam, where he instructed the Permanent Secretary responsible for Electricity and Renewable Energy to form an investigation committee comprising specialists from the Ministry of Energy, the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) and security agencies.
The committee has been tasked with carrying out a comprehensive inquiry into the failure of the national grid, which triggered widespread blackouts on June 27, and proposing long-term technical and operational solutions to improve the reliability of the country's electricity transmission system.
"The committee's findings will enable the government to take the necessary action to ensure that such an incident does not occur again," Mr Ndejembi said.
The minister also directed Tanesco's management to submit a preliminary report within one week, saying the government required an early assessment to support immediate corrective action while the full investigation continues.
Mr Ndejembi said the utility should strengthen the national grid by installing more robust protection and control systems capable of isolating faults before they spread across the wider transmission network.
He stressed that Saturday's disruption originated in the transmission system rather than electricity generation, dismissing concerns over the country's power production capacity.
"What failed was the national grid, not electricity generation. Power generation remains stable. However, when the grid tripped, modern generating plants automatically shut down as part of their built-in protection systems," he said.
The minister also underscored the need to fast-track strategic 400-kilovolt transmission projects, including the Chalinze-Kinyerezi and Chalinze-Dodoma lines, saying the infrastructure would strengthen grid stability, improve system flexibility and reduce the risk of widespread outages.
Permanent Secretary for Electricity and Renewable Energy, Felchesmi Mramba, said the ministry would closely oversee implementation of the minister's directives and ensure that the investigation committee completed its work without delay.
He said the ministry would also intensify supervision of key transmission projects to ensure they are completed on schedule, describing them as critical to improving the efficiency, resilience and reliability of Tanzania's national grid.
The outage, which affected electricity supply in several parts of the country on Saturday, was gradually resolved after Tanesco restored power to the affected areas.
