Electricity users to face 3-hour load shedding
Electricity users in the country will from today to Sunday experience three-hour loadshedding due to maintenance works at Kapichira Hydro Power Station in Chikwawa which will reduce supply to the national grid.
Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) said in a notice dated November 11 2023 that the temporary load shedding programme will only affect domestic customers.
The load shedding programme shows that some customers that have been categorised into three groups will be experiencing a three-hour blackout.
Reads Escom’s statement: “The load shedding has been necessitated by the power supply deficit due to maintenance works which our major supplier, Egenco [Electricity Generation Company] will undertake at Kapichira Units 3 and 4 on the said dates.”
On how much the solar power producers are feeding into the national grid, Escom public relations manager Kitty Chingota said yesterday they contribute about 101 megawatts that cushions power shortage during the day.
“All the demand will be met [during the day]. Unfortunately, peak demand comes in the evening when solar is gone,” she said.
Egenco spokesperson Moses Gwaza asked for more time before commenting on the scope of work at the two units, power output and how much the company is currently generating.
In April this year, Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola assured electricity consumers of an end to load shedding following the restoration of three out of four power generation machines at Kapichira Hydro Electric Power Station in Chikwawa.
