Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) says heavy rains in the Shire River catchment areas have swept trash and debris into water intakes, choking power generation.
In a statement yesterday, Egenco said it has deployed technical teams to clear the trash and restore normal operations.
Egenco spokesperson Moses Gwaza said last evening that the trash has affected Nkula and Tedzani power stations.
“In the afternoon, we had some machines that were out but some of them have been restored,” he said.
Egenco operates the 129.6 megawatt (MW) Kapichira Hydro Power Station in Chikwawa District as well as Tedzani Power Station with 121MW installed capacity and Nkula A and B power stations with combined 135MW, all in Blantyre, along the Shire River, the country’s biggest river and sole outlet of Lake Malawi.
In an earlier statement yesterday, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) said the works to remove trash at Nkula Power Station reduced power supply by 25MW.
The electricity supplier further said it started emergency load shedding from 11:16am.
In its load shedding schedule for March 16 to 24 2026, Escom divided customers into six groups, with three experiencing blackouts of at least 4.5 hours per day.
Meanwhile, Escom has also reported increased network faults and hazardous incidents, including leaning poles in areas affected by heavy rains nationwide.
The power utility warned the public to exercise caution around electricity infrastructure and promptly report any faults.
Heavy rainfall has mainly affected the Southern and lakeshore areas of the country, causing flooding and damage to houses.
The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services said on Monday that the rains will persist until Thursday.
