2008_Zanzibar_Power_blackout
2008 Zanzibar power blackout
Power outage in Zanzibar, Tanzania
The 2008 Zanzibar Power blackout was an extensive power outage on Zanzibar, Tanzania.
During May and June 2008, Zanzibar suffered a period of almost one month without mains electricity due to a grid failure which left the entire island dependent on alternative methods of electricity generation (mainly diesel generators). The power outage occurred on 21 May 2008 causing a wide-area grid failure across the Tanzanian network followed by a power surge which damaged the submarine interconnector cable that links the Tanzanian mainland and Zanzibar.[1]
The power was eventually restored on 19 June 2008, however, concerns remained about the fragility of the island's transmission infrastructure, its near total dependence on the mainland for its electricity generation, and the capacity and condition of the ageing interconnector that links the mainland electricity network and the island grid.
A similar but longer event happened in Zanzibar in 2009. During this occurrence, the island was without power for more than three months.