The Energy and Water Utilities Authority (Ewura) will soon meet with the management of the power utility firm to sort-out the recently announced arrangements that require electricity customers to buy equipments at their own costs.
`We are planning to have a consultative meeting with Tanesco and sort-out all the issues raised for the benefit of the public,` Ewura Director General Haruna Masebu told The Guardian in an exclusive interview yesterday in Dar es Salaam.
Masebu said the meeting will give the green light to Ewura to come up with concrete solutions before making the plan it mooted official.
Commenting on the fear that, Tanesco`s new arrangement will give more loopholes for the counterfeit electrical appliances to prevail in the market, Masebu said:
`From my knowledge customers will have to buy equipment from Tanesco. And Tanesco will be responsible to ensure that all equipment that will be installed are genuine and not other wise.`
He further said that the decision of approving Tanesco application on new charges will be cleared next month.
As for the power utility firm`s new charges he said: `Tanesco application for new charges are still not yet approved because we are still working on the matter, but by next month the decision will be made`.
New customers of Tanesco network were told to buy equipment needed for installing service lines, under a new arrangement announced yesterday.
The pronouncement came in response to the Energy and Water Utilities Authority (Ewura)`s action of barring Tanesco from increasing connection charges by 100 per cent without the regulatory body�s consent.
Tanesco Public Relations Manager Daniel Mshana said for the time being, as they were waiting for Ewura to respond to their price hike application, customers would have to purchase equipment needed for power line connection.
Mshana said: `Since the new charges have not been approved by Ewura, for the time being, Tanesco has decided not to connect new customers by charging old service-line installation rates. Customers have been advised to buy themselves the materials if they want to be connected.`
On Friday, Ewura restrained Tanesco`s plan to hike domestic power connection charges on the grounds that the firm had failed to secure mandatory approval for proposed changes as required by the law.
Tanesco was all out to hike the charges by more than 100 per cent this month. A subsequent customer uproar invited Ewura`s intervention.
The power utility firm is currently waiting for Ewura to bless the new tariffs, which it had earlier sought to effect behind Ewura`s back.
Last week, Ewura instructed Tanesco to explain why it had unilaterally decided to impose higher tariffs.
Tanesco is proposing new connection fees ranging between 563,271/- and 3.78m/- for consumers using pre-paid meters, popularly known as LUKU, and between 497,482/- and 2.4m/- for those using ordinary meters.
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