Tanzania’s electricity landscape has entered a new phase, with hydropower overtaking natural gas as the country’s dominant source of electricity following the completion of the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP).
The shift is emerging as one of the most significant developments in the energy sector, raising hopes that Tanzania can use its vast electricity potential to accelerate industrialisation and move towards the ambitious Tanzania Vision 2050 target of increasing electricity availability to 3,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per capita, from about 170 kWh per capita currently available, as highlighted in the national development ambitions.
The Tanzania Economic Survey 2025 shows that hydropower generated 63.85 percent of electricity from the National Grid in 2025, while natural gas accounted for 31.48 percent. Hydropower had an installed capacity of 2,718.27 megawatts (MW), compared with 1,140.72 MW for natural gas.
The transformation follows the completion of all nine turbines of the JNHPP, whose total installed capacity stands at 2,115 MW. The project helped raise Tanzania’s total installed electricity generation capacity by 34.1 percent, from 3,052.46 MW in 2024 to 4,093.74 MW in 2025.
The growing dominance of hydropower has simultaneously reduced pressure on natural gas for electricity generation. Natural gas production fell by 11 percent, from 69.54 billion cubic feet in 2024 to 61.91 billion cubic feet in 2025. The Economic Survey attributes the decline to lower demand for natural gas in electricity generation after completion of JNHPP.
Overall, electricity generation increased by 16.1 percent to 13.89 million megawatt-hours in 2025, from 11.96 million MWh in 2024. Electricity sold to customers also increased by 6.6 percent to 9.71 million MWh.
But Tanzania’s challenge is no longer only how to generate more electricity. It is also how to ensure that the power reaches more people and productive economic activities.
By December 2025, 85.5 percent of the population had access to electricity services, while only 52.10 percent were connected to the distribution network. On the mainland, 39,003 of 64,359 hamlets equivalent to 60.6 percent had access to electricity services through various Rural Energy Agency projects.
The gap between electricity access and actual connection highlights the importance of expanding distribution infrastructure. In 2025, the distribution network grew by 13.1 percent to 223,389.94 kilometres, while electricity customers increased by 11.6 percent to 5.83 million.
Another obstacle is power loss. 14.48 percent of electricity generated was lost in 2025, the same level as in 2024. The losses were attributed to ageing transmission and distribution infrastructure, extensive distribution networks and overloaded transformers.
Economically, electricity is already showing stronger momentum. The electricity and gas supply activity grew by 11.8 percent in 2025, compared with 7.8 percent in 2024, largely because of increased hydropower generation after JNHPP became operational. However, its share of GDP stood at 0.3 percent, down from 0.4 percent in 2024.
The figures present Tanzania with both an opportunity and a warning. The country is producing more electricity and has significantly expanded its generation capacity, but achieving the Vision 2050 ambition will require more than power plants. It will demand reliable transmission and distribution networks, reduced losses and wider connections.
With hydropower now at the centre of the electricity mix, Tanzania has gained a stronger foundation. The task ahead is to turn that power potential into electricity that reaches homes, industries and businesses and ultimately drives the economic transformation envisioned for 2050.
