Malawi’s persistent power outages are unlikely to end soon after the Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) admitted the country is generating far less electricity than national demand.
Egenco officials, led by director of planning Jeddie Luka and company secretary Videlia Mluwira, told the Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances and Public Reforms on Friday that the power system is under pressure from equipment breakdowns, fuel shortages and rising demand.
Breakdowns at Nkula B and Kapichira II power stations have removed a combined 52 megawatts (MW) from the national grid, worsening the crisis, the officials said. Of Egenco’s 27 diesel gensets, only 18 are operational; nine remain grounded because the company cannot access spare parts amid foreign‑exchange shortages and procurement delays, some of which await Anti‑Corruption Bureau waivers.
Fuel rationing has also affected heavy‑duty generators, resulting in a further 53 MW loss from the grid. In total, more than 100 MW are currently unavailable for national supply.
Luka told the committee that electricity demand is rising rapidly while generation capacity has remained stagnant.
He cited the Malawi Electricity Access Project (MEAP), under which about 180 000 new customers were connected to the national grid without a corresponding increase in generation capacity. He warned that a planned Escom project to connect 250 000 additional customers will add further pressure unless investments in generation are prioritised.
Luka said solar energy remains an important alternative but is not yet reliable enough to support heavy industrial operations that require stable, continuous power.
He added that rehabilitation works at Kapichira Dam, severely damaged by Cyclone Freddy in 2022, face a funding gap of $50 million (about K86 billion), and government is engaging stakeholders to bridge the deficit.
Egenco spokesperson Moses Gwaza said the situation could slightly improve in June when a new solar plant in Salima is expected to feed 10 MW into the national grid. He said forex constraints delayed payment of commissioning fees to the contractor but that the issue is being addressed.
“We are also having challenges with fuel. We cannot run some of the diesel engines. So we are engaging Nocma, Puma and other suppliers to prioritise us in terms of fuel supplies. We are finalising the Salima solar power plant and hope that by June it will be running, adding 10 MW to the national grid,” Gwaza said.
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Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances and Public Reforms chairperson Sam Kawale said Malawi must increase generation capacity to end the blackouts.
“The major thing is increase in generation. At the moment, we are not generating enough to meet current demand. There is emphasis on hydro, thermal and solar, but there’s also coal generation that could be a game changer,” Kawale said.
Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) executive director John Kapito criticised authorities for failing to address electricity problems despite repeated consumer complaints. He warned that prolonged blackouts are crippling industries and small businesses, undermining the economy and Malawi’s development ambitions under Malawi 2063.
“Egenco’s problems can best be understood by those that employed them. This institution has for a long time played and fooled consumers around, knowing they cannot be held accountable for poor performance. Consumers have complained for ages and nothing has happened,” Kapito said.
Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences senior energy lecturer Sugzo Kaunda said the power situation has become precarious because planned energy investments have not been implemented. He noted that Malawi has strategic energy plans, including an Integrated Resource Plan, but implementation has lagged behind rising demand.
“We have a serious problem of accessing power in the country, characterised by blackouts. Those with generators also fail to generate because of fuel shortages. We should promote standalone renewable systems such as solar PVs, but these do not provide firm power for heavy industrial processes. Solar PV off‑grid power can, however, support social services,” Kaunda said.
He recommended a clear fuel‑management strategy during crises to ensure critical social and economic services continue operating.
In April, Escom announced an eight‑month embedded power and battery storage programme aimed at strengthening the grid, effectively signalling a long wait for stable supply. Escom said current outages are driven primarily by system instability and demand exceeding available generation, leading to frequent load‑shedding.
Currently, Egenco supplies 444 MW to the national grid: 390 MW from hydro, 53 MW from diesel generators and 1.3 MW from solar.
