Govt urged to be proactive on electricity woes
Community Energy Malawi (CEM), a local renewable energy firm, has urged government to be proactive in planning, implementing, innovating and harnessing the potential the country has to avert the current electricity woes.
The advice comes against the backdrop of prolonged power outages the country is experiencing as a result of low water levels in Shire River, the main source of hydro power generation.
CEM, in a statement, says government should intensify conservation efforts of rivers and catchment areas by enforcing the law.
It urges Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) to workout modalities of tapping into other available under-utilised power such as Mulanje Energy Generation Agency (Mega), where about 50 percent of its 88 kilowatts (KW) generation is not used.
Reads the statement in part: “With rural electrification funds, six solar villages were installed across Malawi and all, but one are dead. We have never taken efforts to understand why they failed few years down the line.”
CEM has commended government for coming up with long-term interventions such as the 300-megawatts (MW) Kammwamba Coal Fired Power Plant and opening up the market for independent power producers (IPPs).
Earlier this month, Escom chief executive officer John Kandulu told journalists in Blantyre that low water levels will worsen power generation capacity.
