Power link to Kenya to be completed next year, says Tanzania

Tanzania will complete a $455 million power transmission line next year linking its grid to Kenya and Zambia, part of plans to export electricity powered by its gas and coal reserves to neighbours, the Energy Ministry said on Monday. Tanzania, which has found commercial quantities of gas offshore and sits on big coal deposits, aims to double its generation capacity to 3,000 megawatts (MW) by 2016 to meet rising domestic demand and supply the region. Power shortages are common across Africa and businesses often complain that poor or erratic supplies deter more investors and push up prices of local products, as many firms have to rely on costly diesel generators.