Quality of Life Upgrade: More Electricity in Rural Towns

Tanzania is deploying formidable efforts to electrify the rural parts of its territory through a program meant to greatly improve its population’s quality of life and livelihoods and protect its human capital.

Over the last ten years, electricity access in Tanzania went from 7% in 2011 to 37.7% in 2020. This is one of the fastest access expansion rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. Such rates have been reached because of strong political commitment and the reductions in connection fees and service charges.

In urban areas, the electricity access rate reaches 73.2%, while in rural areas, that access rate reaches only 24.5%. The Tanzania Rural Electrification Expansion Program – or TREEP – is looking to expand rural access to electricity, increase the supply of renewable electricity in rural areas, and strengthen the capacity of sector institutions to deliver on the government’s National Rural Electrification Program. Approved in 2016, the $209 million program was financed by the government of Tanzania, the International Development Association, and the Scaling up Renewable Energy Program in Low-Income Countries of the Strategic Climate Fund. Through TREEP, in January 2021, some 4,300 villages were electrified. Tanzania’s goal is to achieve universal access to modern energy services by 2030, with 75% to be electrified through national and mini-grids and the remaining 25% through quality-verified off-grid solutions. Electrification is crucial to keep schools open and facilitate the recruitment of teachers. It also serves as a boost for employment and livelihood. Businesses are provided with electricity access under TREEP.