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LEGAL

Company Secretariat

The Company Secretariat is the division of the company that deals with all legal matters within the company and is the main legal advisor of the Company at large and it comprises of the Legal and Security divisions. Its head is the Chief Legal Counsel and Company Secretary

The legal division is the linking unit which provides guidance to management and other Business Units on legal matters. The Legal division also deals with risk management, all issues pertaining to good governance, statutory compliance, litigation, commercial transactions and contracts.

The Security division deals with physical protection of company properties, assets, infrastructures, and installations against theft, sabotage, loss, damage, vandalism, and other malicious acts. The division also deals with all kinds of investigations into crimes and irregularities that surface in the company such as theft, embezzlement, corrupt practices, fraud, etc

General Objectives of the Business Unit

  • To ensure that all legal matters are handled professionally and in a timely manner in the best interest of the company.
  • To prepare TANESCO standard contracts for use for all services within the company and ensure that contracts are prepared and executed in accordance to standards.
  • To ensure that the company complies with national and institutional principles of good governance.
  • To support the company’s business objectives by ensuring the safety of company properties, assets, installations, and systems through well planned and monitored actions both internally and externally to ensure that company infrastructure and installations are safeguarded.
  • To ensure compliance of the company security policy.

Recently the company premises and infrastructure have been faced with the rampant theft, vandalism and sabotage of its properties.

In curbing the same the department has devised a system in which any person at large who has any knowledge of any theft, vandalism and sabotage of Company properties will be rewarded on basis of the information so supplied to the Company. These “informers” are treated confidentially and all matters in which they report is confidential and their identities are also protected.

In ensuring that rewards are properly administered a reward structure has been developed for the following incidences:

  1. Theft of transformer oil (if caught red-handed or found in possession of used transformer oil not less than 100 litres)
  2. Theft of transformer oil (found in possession of used transformer oil less than 100 litres)
  3. Theft of tower members from steel towers
  4. Theft of overhead conductors in distribution networks (not service lines)
  5. Theft of copper cables (excluding service lines)
  6. Illegal service lines and/or illegally installed meters
  7. Unethical behaviours committed by staff or non-staff people (vishoka)
  8. Big fraud on billing system (above 10 million in loss)
  9. Fraud on billing (below 10 million)
  10. Electricity theft.

If you have any information regards any of the above or any other matter which you will deem to be theft, vandalism and sabotage of Company properties kindly contact:

Our Head Office Security Department;

Or contact our Regional Security Officers who are located at all TANESCO Regions through the Regional Managers Offices.

All information received will be treated as privileged and confidential.

LEGISLATION

TANZANIA ELECTRIC SUPPLY COMPANY LIMITED (TANESCO Ltd) is a company limited fully owned by the Government of Tanzania under the Ministry of Energy and Minerals and hence was duly registered under the Companies Act Cap 12 [R. E. 2002] as amended, under the Registrar of Companies under the Business Registration and Licensing Authority (BRELA). The New Electricity Act No. 10 of 2008 as amended which repealed the Electricity Act Cap 131[R. E. 2002] is the law that facilitates and regulates generation, transmission, distribution, supply and use of electric energy and hence is the main act that governs TANESCO Ltd activities as being the current sole licensee.

TANESCO Ltd currently carries out all distribution, transmission and generation activities within the Country.

Since sometime in 2001 the Government has formed a Regulatory Authority which is the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) under the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority Act Cap 414 [R. E. 2002] as amended which is an Act which has established the Regulatory Authority in relation to energy and water utilities and it provides for its operation in place of former Authorities and for related matters.

EWURA’s main responsibility under section 5 of the Electricity Act No. 10 of 2008 is stated as follows:

  1. Award licences to entities undertaking or seeking to undertake a licenced activity;
  2. Approve and enforce tariffs and fees by licencees;
  3. Approve licencees’ terms and conditions of electricity supply and
  4. Approve initiation of the procurement of new electricity supply installations.

The functions of EWURA in relation to electricity supply industry are stated under section 6 (1) as follows:

  1. Protect customer’s interest through the promotion of competition;
  2. Promote access to and affordability of electricity services particularly in rural areas;
  3. Promote least-cost investment and the security of supply for the benefit of customers;
  4. Promote improvement in the operational and economic efficiency of the electricity supply industry and efficiency in the use of electricity;
  5. Promote appropriate standards of quality, reliability and affordability of electricity supply;
  6. Take into account the effect of the activities of the electricity supply industry on the environment;
  7. Protect the public from dangers arising from the activities of the electricity supply industry; and
  8. Promote the health and safety of persons in the working environment employed in the electricity supply industry.

Under the new law the following activities shall require a licence as stated in section 8 (1) of the Electricity Act No. 10 of 2008 which shall be issued by EWURA:

  1. Generation;
  2. Transmission;
  3. Distribution;
  4. Supply;
  5. System operation;
  6. Cross border trade in electricity;
  7. Physical and financial; and
  8. Electricity installations.

The new Electricity Act No. 10 of 2008 also provides for consumer rights and privileges which are widely discussed under section 26 of the act. In conferring these rights to the consumer several obligation are placed in the hands of a licencee for distribution who in this case is TANESCO Ltd. These obligation under 26 (1) include suspension of electricity supply services to customers due to various reasons including if the same may cause;

  1. Danger to life, health or safety;
  2. Danger or risk of damage to property;
  3. Instructions of the System Operator;
  4. Insufficient supply of electricity;
  5. Instruction of EWURA, in the event of an emergency;
  6. Operational breakdowns in electrical facilities;
  7. In order to carry out works as follows;
    1. Connection to its distribution facilities;
    2. Scheduled or unscheduled maintenance;
    3. Repairs, inspections or refits;
    4. Tests of control measures;
    5. Network expansion; and
    6. Other activities which cannot be accomplished without a suspension of service.

Though suspension of services is allowed under the new Electricity Act No. 10 of 2008 the same is limited under section 26 (2) which states that the suspension shall:

  1. Be as brief as possible;
  2. Affect the fewest number of customer’s possible; and
  3. Minimize suspension of supply to priority customers in accordance with the licencee’s contingency plans

TANESCO also has the obligation in non-emergency situations to provide advance notice of the suspension of electricity under section 26 (3) of the Electricity Act No. 10 of 2008 to its customers.

All these obligation which are required by the Act to be followed by TANESCO are essentially the customers rights and privileges. But in line with these rights and privileges the customer also has several obligations to TANESCO under the law. In particular TANESCO is entitled to recover from the customer’s losses which it may suffer if any of the following scenarios were to happen under section 26 (6) of the Electricity Act No. 10 of 2008:

  1. Loss or damage in the licensee’s equipment or properties which are in the custody of the customer or customer’s premises;
  2. Loss of damage occasioned as a result of the licensee undertaking to rectify or repair the damage unlawfully caused by the customer;
  3. Loss or damage resulting from the customer tampering with licensee’s installation or equipment, or maliciously or negligently causing physical or financial loss directly or indirectly to the licensees; or
  4. Any other loss or damage which in the natural course of things does not require proof of having been caused by the customers.

Further under section 28 of the Electricity Act No. 10 of 2008 TANESCO has the power to disconnect the supply of electricity to a customer who;

  1. Unlawfully connected to the electricity systems; or
  2. Is in breach of his contractual obligation in respect of electricity supply.

The section under sub (2) further goes on to require that TANESCO reconnects a customer electricity service upon full payment of a past due account and reconnection fees.

Finally under section 28 (3) both TANESCO and the customer have been given the option to refer to any dispute in relation to payment obligations to EWURA.

Otherwise monitoring, inspection, investigations and compliance with all aspects with regards to the performance of TANESCO will be done by EWURA as stipulated under Part V of the Electricity Act No. 10 of 2008.

TANESCO’s installation are all placed on public land the act in envisaging the need for construction of new electricity lines has conferred the right of TANESCO to acquire land pursuant to the land laws of the country including payment of compensation. It also gives TANESCO the right to enter into private property for the purposes of operating, repairing and maintaining its facilities. This has been discussed under Part VI of the Electricity Act No. 10 of 2008 under section 34, 35 and 36.

Notwithstanding, Rural Electrification has also been addressed and a Rural Energy Agency has been former under the Rural Energy Act No. 8 of 2005. The Agency will be responsible for the monitoring and evaluation and establishment of targets for rural electrification.

To read more about the new Electricity Act together with the regulator (EWURA) and his responsibility and the Rural Energy Agency kindly click the following links to read the acts in detail.