Tanzania is set to inject 150 megawatts of power into its national grid after Norwegian firm Jacobsen Electro Company completes construction of Kinyerezi I plant.

Trials to test the plant’s turbines will start in July prior to commissioning in August.

The $183 million Kinyerezi I gas-fired plant in Dar es Salaam will supply electricity to the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) for onward distribution to power consumers.

Tanesco project manager Simon Jilima says the plant’s turbines will run on jet fuel until natural gas from Mtwara reaches the facility. A new gas pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam is yet to be commissioned.

Kinyerezi I, financed through US-led Power Africa initiative, will supply electricity to industries in its vicinity through a substation on Nyerere road near the Julius Nyerere International Airport.

The single cycle plant will later be upgraded to dual cycle technology where heat produced by turbine exhausts will be used to boil water to whose steam will be used to run the turbines to generate electricity.

“The challenge is water availability. We are studying if we can drill a well here or use sea water after desalination,” the plant’s manager Mr Stephen Manda said.

Tanzania currently generates 1,226MW of power to serve a population of over 47 million and additional 82MW in isolated mini-grids.