Bariadi. The government has completed electricity distribution to all 474 villages in Simiyu Region at a cumulative cost of Sh107.36 billion, the Deputy Minister for Energy, Judith Kapinga, has announced.
Speaking on June 18, 2025, during the conclusion of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s working tour of Simiyu Region, Ms Kapinga said the next phase of the electrification agenda now targets hamlets, with implementation already underway in 638 out of the region’s 1,408 hamlets.
“Following the President’s directive to ensure every village is electrified, we have now moved a step further. Electricity distribution is currently being extended to the hamlet level across Simiyu,” she noted.
To further stabilise electricity supply in the region, the government is set to construct a new power receiving and distribution substation in Simiyu under the Reliable Grid Project. At present, the region receives its electricity from the neighbouring regions of Shinyanga, Mwanza and Mara.
“The new facility will reinforce power reliability in Simiyu and enhance economic and social development,” she said.
According to Ms Kapinga, the Reliable Grid Project in Simiyu comprises two key components: the construction of a power transmission line from Ibadakuli in Shinyanga to Bariadi, estimated at Sh48 billion; and the development of the Bariadi power receiving and distribution substation, to cost Sh49 billion.
Once complete, the substation is expected to provide Simiyu with an electricity handling capacity of up to 150 megawatts, significantly boosting the region’s energy resilience and opening new opportunities for growth.
On clean cooking energy, Ms Kapinga revealed that the region had so far received 16,275 subsidised LPG cylinders, all of which have been taken up by residents.
The move is part of a broader national campaign to promote clean cooking alternatives and reduce reliance on biomass energy, in line with Tanzania’s energy transition agenda.
