Frequent power outages are hurting manufacturing and mining sub-sectors despite ongoing efforts to bridge the gap. The shortage is partially attributed to the existing old infrastructure with most power stations requiring an upgrade.

The unreliable power is also taking a toll on the nascent tin smelting industry in the country with Phoenix Metal, a cassiterite smelting plant, suspending operations.

The plant was conducting a smelting test on 90 tonnes of cassiterite to produce 50 to 70 tonnes of tin but had to stop.

“In our first test, we suffered an unscheduled power cut for over two hours. This led directly to solidification of the material in the main furnace and indirectly our electrical explosion protection when we tried to recover the main furnace,” said Christophe Barthelemy, director general of Phoenix Metals.

“We had to stop the smelting and repair our electrical protection system,” said Mr Barthelemy.

READ: Cost of power to remain high despite falling prices of oil

Power outages not only cause breakdown of equipment but also spoils the processed tin.

The smelter has two furnaces, each with a capacity of smelting 300 tonnes per month. The plant, which uses 23MM of energy to heat furnaces that smelt cassiterite into tin, needs five hours of uninterrupted power supply. Such huge power demand cannot run on a thermal generator.

“The plant suspended the test phase but has since resumed operations,” said Peter Martin Niyigena, advisor of the State Minister For Mining.

Mr Niyigena said the tin company lost $200,000 as a result of the power surge. There is growing fear that the country could miss the $400 million revenue from minerals by 2017.

Through value addition and shift to industrial mining, State Minister for Mining Evode Imena observed, Rwanda will meet the revenue targets. In 2013, Rwanda surpassed its target of $226.5 but the volatility in commodity prices in 2014 saw the revenues dip.

However, Rwanda Energy Group is upgrading its infrastructure as it prepares to import 400MW additional power from Kenya and Ethiopia to meet the current deficit starting this year.

“Power is expensive and unreliable, forcing manufacturers to rely on standby thermal power generators, which make goods manufactured in Rwanda uncompetitive,” said Claudine Mukeshimana, executive director of Rwanda chamber of industry and manufacturing.

The statistics for January to November 2014 show that the country generated only $194.5 million due to the fall in prices on the international market.

Rwanda’s cassiterite production stands at 450 to 500 tonnes per month while the entire mining industry stands at 12,000 tonnes annually.

The World Bank points out that for Rwandan manufacturing sub-sector to become competitive, there is urgent need to address the constraints.

The World Bank’s Rwanda Economic Update report points out lack of adequate infrastructure, especially electricity and transport routes and a low skill base limit investment in manufacturing.