130 megawatts off the grid
Malawians should brace for more blackouts as it is not known when Kapichira Power Station, which supplies about 129.6 megawatts (MW) to the national grid, will be back in operation.
The station, located in Chikwawa District, suffered extensive damage particularly at its dam following the flooding of the Shire River due to Tropical Storm Ana.
The situation has forced the Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) to shut down the station.
Addressing journalists after touring the station on Monday, Egenco chief executive officer William Liabunya said the dyke that diverts water to the dam and intake machines were washed away.
He said they were still assessing the extent of the damage, to find out how much money will be required and how long it will take to fix the damage and the amount lost due to loss of supply.
However, in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in 2019, the company spent about K5 billion to repair the dam.
“We were still working on the damage caused by Cyclone Idai in 2019 when this happened. We are planning to redesign the dam so that it can withstand the current climatic conditions,” said Liabunya.
In total, Egenco supplies 442 MW to the national grid from both hydro and diesel generators. However, in the absence of Kapichira Power Station, only 312 MW will be generated.
The company has also announced a temporary shutdown of Nkula B Power Station to carry out intake trash screen inspection.
Speaking earlier, Community Energy Malawi country director Edgar Kapiza Bayani faulted Egenco for laxity in planning for disasters, saying almost every year the company experiences this.
“Since we are all aware that with climate change, such events will be recurring, perhaps it is high time they worked on water flow management,” he said.
