TZW
He said the domestic firm has assured sufficient production of the devices, arguing that the government will serve a lot of money by procuring the meters, domestically.
BEST is set to produce 500,000 meters, annually, against the country’s demand of 450,000 meters.Dr Kalemani assured that all authorities responsible for electric supply, mostly Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) and Rural Electrification Agency (REA) will be BEST’s permanent customers.
But, the minister told the manufacturer to maintain quality, quantity, reliability and affordability. He said the government has been incurring high cost in importation of electrical equipment from the companies with big brand names but with low quality products. “For instance, last year, over 100 transformers from India were burnt.
We have been saving a lot in various ways since we banned importation of trans-formers...it used to cost 30m/- for single imported transformer but it now costs only 13m/- from our local manufacturers,” said the minister.
A single imported electrical pole used to cost between 300,000/- and 400,000/- but the domestically procured pole costs hardly 250,000/-, said the minister.
The banning on importation of electric meters follows similar bans on transformers and electric poles. The minister reminded the newly launched firm to consider affordability, hinting that imported single-phase and three-phase meters used to cost 245,000/- and 750,000/-, respectively.
Dr Kalemani directed all authorities responsible for electricity supply to observe the agreement on connecting any client who applies for the service within seven days because almost all equipment are domestically manufactured.
BEST General Manager Engineer Hashim Ibrahim assured that not only quality, quantity, affordability and constant supply but also energy loss control measures will be given priority.
He said BEST applies modern technology in its products, enabling Tanesco employees to have all information about energy use while in office. The government will save millions of shillings it used to spend on meter repairs as BEST also provides services, said Engineer Ibrahim.
He pinpointed the benefits to the government and Tanzanians in general, citing job opportunities for the company plans to employ 100 youth and offers continuous training to enable them cope with technological changes.
The company has invested about 1.7 billion US dollars in the business that eyes 98bn/- annual turnover, with sales in the domestic and export markets.