ISLANDS on the seashore as well as Lake Victoria will be connected to the national power grid by installing small power stations there.

Costa Rubagumya, the Tanzania Electric Supply Co. (TANESCO) deputy managing director, made this affirmation at the ongoing East Africa energy cooperation conference here yesterday, inviting private investors to work on this goal through public private partnership.

Such power stations need to be set up in remote parts of the country especially on islands like Mafia on the seashore and other islets in lakes Victoria and Tanganyika, he stated.

Upwards of 500,000 new clients are being connected to the national grid annually, he said, hinting that in the wake of the Africa energy summit lately held in Dar es Salaam, a new target of linking 1.6m new users per year is being set, he said.

This is in line with the Mission 300 initiative where more than 8.3m new customers will be joined to power lines by 2030, he said, noting that the host country was among 12 initial signatories of the Dar es Salaam Declaration reached at the summit.

It is a multi-state agreement committing African governments to accelerate energy access across the continent and promote renewable energy adoption, he stated.

Jean-Baptiste Havugimana, the East African Community (EAC) director of productive sectors, said that access to electricity in the East African region is still below 50 percent on average, some countries approach 75 percent connection or above.

The EAC secretariat is working with the member states to increase the rate of access in isolated or borderline areas especially through shared hydropower units, he stated.

The EAC is also working to establish a regional energy collection centre and exchange market for shared power resources, an initiative likely to help distribute chances of connection equally across member states and cut down costs among consumers, he further noted.

"Where some countries produce surplus, others suffer deficiency and therefore the pooling of these resources will balance supply and demand," he asserted.

Joseph Siror, the Kenya Power and Lighting Co, (KPLC) chief executive officer, said that it was high time for East African countries to move away from dependency on hydropower sources.

With climate change and fluctuating weather patterns, hydropower generation is no longer reliable, so the EAC region has to take up auxiliary power sources like geothermal, solar, wind and biogas, he stated.

Ministers from across the EAC and large-scale energy user were meeting for two days, with the conference delving into opportunities for the private sector.

They also laboured on advocating for a diversified energy mix to maintain grid stability to support major industrial growth, along with other commercial activities.

Andrea Malueth, EAC deputy secretary general charged with Infrastructure had earlier described energy as a pillar for development and growth, crucial for the functioning of EAC economies.

The East Africa energy cooperation summit would serve as an ideal platform for advancing projects and bringing tangible changes in the industry, he added.