The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) and the Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) on Thursday unveiled ambitious projects to combat the current persistent power supply outages that have sparked public frustrations across the country.
Speaking at a joint press conference between ESCOM and EGENCO in Lilongwe, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) from the two companies emotionally appealed to the public to understand the situation at hand while assuring that their teams were working around the clock to ensure that power supply stabilizes.
ESCOM CEO, Mr Kamkwamba Kumwenda was upbeat about the future while singling out the Mozambique-Malawi (MOMA) Interconnection Project to import 50 megawatts as one of the flagship projects to stabilize power supply by the end of this year.
“We will do with what we have at the moment as we endeavour to balance the available power supply versus demand. That is why we are here today to face the nation and explain what is happening. However, through the MOMA project, we will soon be importing 50 megawatts. We believe this will stabilize power supply by December this year,” Kumwenda said.
Additionally, Kumwenda added that ESCOM is constructing a 20-megawatt battery energy storage system at Kanengo Substation in Lilongwe to manage fluctuations that solar power brings to the national grid.
Kumwenda noted that the recent devaluation of the Kwacha has negatively impacted operations, as ESCOM depends on tariffs approved by the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority to pay independent power producers.
Taking his turn, EGENCO CEO, Dr. Maxon Chitawo, revealed that plans are underway to add 358 megawatts to the national grid by 2031 through the Mpatamanga Hydro Power Station Project alone.
“While ESCOM is doing its part as a major supplier of hydro power, we are also doing our part to ensure that we generate adequate electricity for the country without fully relying on imported power. The Mpatamanga Project is one such project that we are currently embarking on for hydro generation,” Chitawo said.
Meanwhile, there is increasing demand for electricity connections further piling pressure on the demand situation. As of Friday last week, ESCOM through the Malawi Electricity Access Project alone, had connected over 165,000 to national grid against a target of 180,000 by December 2025.