Minister of Energy Jean Mathanga says Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has stocked up on spare parts and plans to inspect its power infrastructure ahead of the rainy season to speed up fault repairs.
Speaking during a tour of Escom’s national control centre and national customer call centre at Chichiri in Blantyre, the minister also said Escom seeks to reduce weather-related electricity disruptions.
“We have also advised Escom to inspect its infrastructure before the rains intensify, including checking power lines, replacing worn-out or leaning poles and ensuring that electricity infrastructure is in good condition to withstand adverse weather,” said Mathanga.
The preparations come amid recurring weather-related electricity faults during previous rainy seasons.
In January this year, Escom reported recording an average of 1 500 electricity faults daily nationwide, which it attributed to fallen poles, vandalism, equipment failures and adverse weather conditions.
Mathanga said limited transport for Escom staff to reach affected areas and inadequate spare parts were among the challenges affecting fault resolution.
At the national contact centre, she said Escom is also developing a system to ensure customers are served on a first come, first served basis, as part of efforts to improve the handling of reported faults.
During the visit, the minister personally handled a call from a customer in Lunzu, Blantyre, who complained about low voltage. The customer said the problem was also reported last week, but it was yet to be resolved.
In response, Mathanga assured the customer that Escom will follow up on the complaint and address the problem.
Beyond electricity distribution, heavy rainfall also affects power generation when debris is swept into water intakes along the Shire River, .
Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) chief executive officer William Liabunya said on Tuesday the company has established an El Niño task force to prepare for possible drought and heavy rainfall during the current rainy season.
Egenco also expects to restore about 31 megawatts (MW) of electricity by mid-November following the completion of maintenance works at Nkula A and Nkula B hydropower stations.
The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, in its 2026/2027 seasonal rainfall outlook, forecast below-normal rainfall over most parts of southern and central Malawi, while normal to above-normal rainfall is expected over the North.
