Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) Limited launched its Integrated Strategic Plan 2023-27 (ISP-27) on Friday, October 27 2023 under the theme “A New Customer Experience.”
ESCOM employees, stakeholders and government officers thronged Lilongwe Hotel to witness the colourful ceremony marking the launch of the ISP27. The plan seeks to bring to the fore aspirations of the corporation between now and the year 2027 while focusing on the customer.
In his speech, ESCOM Chief Executive Officer, Kamkwamba Kumwenda, said the ISP-27 was developed after considering both the past and present and also incorporating views from various stakeholders.
“The Strategic Plan articulates better how our mandate of providing access to affordable and reliable electricity can be coordinated and [how] operational activities can be implemented for greater impact,” he said.
Kumwenda said the plan further underscores the government’s key priority areas outlined in country’s long-term development agenda (MW2063), Energy laws (Energy Regulation Act 2004 and 2016 Electricity Act), the dictates of power sector reforms and the 2018 National Energy Policy.
Kumwenda further said while the corporation was developing the ISP-27, it also took stock of the ISP-22 which ended in 2022.
“The implementation of ISP-22 was a mixed bag. However, addition of 80MW solar energy, implementation of various transmission and distribution projects, including the Mozambique-Malawi Interconnector Project, migrating customers from post-paid to pre-paid metering system and securing funding from the World Bank for the Malawi Electricity Access Project (MEAP) were some of the achievements that were realised in the period,” he said.
Kumwenda said going forward, the corporation intends to achieve good financial performance.
Taking his turn, ESCOM Board Chairperson, Morgan Tembo, said the major focus areas of the new strategic plan are Efficient Customer Service delivery, delivering value through positive stakeholder relationships and partnerships, growing organizational capabilities, empowering and growing members of staff.
Tembo said the development of this ISP 27 afforded ESCOM an opportunity for introspection into its purpose, mandate and responsibility.
“It is encouraging to note that ESCOM aligned its Strategic Plan to the high-level initiatives of the Government of the Republic of Malawi such as Vision 2063 and subsidiary policies,” he said.
“Executing the strategies and achieving goals as contained in this plan will depend on the strategic foundation of ESCOM, its leadership commitment, interactive communications with stakeholders and strong adherence to our core values,” he said.
Tembo implored on all stakeholders to work together with ESCOM to ensure that it achieves the objectives outlined in the plan.
In his speech marking the launch of the ISP-27, Minister of Energy, Honourable Ibrahim Matola, who was the guest of honour, said ESCOM Limited has a great role of ensuring that most Malawians have access to reliable electricity in the country.
He said the launch of the plan has been developed with lessons from the implementation of ESCOM’s Turn-Around Strategy.
Matola said while there are many challenges in the electricity sector, the government is committed to ensuring a flawless sector that delivers in line with customer needs.
“There have been significant challenges on the transmission, distribution and single buyer functions. However, the government continues to minimize ESCOM’s financial pressure on the distribution side by extending the national grid to rural masses through the Malawi Rural Electrification Project in order to support ESCOM Limited in delivering its mandate,” he said.