Insufficient power generation attributed to technical faults has left consumers enduring longer hours of power rationing in the past week, costing heavily business operators while inconveniencing domestic consumers.
Meanwhile, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) and Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) have assured that they are “working tirelessly” to stabilise supply.
Prolonged load shedding hours became more pronounced from November 1 2025 as consumers were exposed to more than five hours of rationing that Escom was implementing since July this year.
The development has negatively affected electricity-dependent enterprises such as salons, barbershops, welding shops and small-scale food processors. The entrepreneurs said in random interviews that they were losing income due to reduced working hours and increased costs from using generators.
In Kawale Township in Lilongwe, salon owner Annie Makalani said the situation was making it difficult for her to run her business smoothly.
“When the power goes off, I cannot use dryers or straighteners. Customers leave in frustration and I lose income. I have been forced to buy fuel for my generator just to keep working,” she said.
Entrepreneur Chifundo Kagulo, who runs a sausage making business at Lunzu Trading Centre in Blantyre, said frequent power outages have had a devastating effect on his operations.
“My products easily spoil without refrigeration. The blackouts are affecting sales, and I have already incurred losses. Escom should consider the impact this has on small businesses like ours,” he said.
Escom chief public relations officer Pilirani Phiri yesterday said the power supplier regretted the inconvenience caused by the power outages he attributed to reduced generation from their main power producer, Egencodue to technical faults on key machines.
He said: “Our main hydropower supplier, Egenco, is facing challenges with some of its machines, which has reduced the amount of power available for transmission.
“However, Escom is implementing various measures to manage this temporary setback while repairs are underway.”
Phiri said Tedzani Hydro Power Station Unit 5, with a capacity of 31 megawatts (MW), the 26MW Kapichira Hydro Power Station Unit 3 and Tedzani Unit 2 with 10MW are currently out of service, creating a generation deficit of about 73.8MW.
Malawi’s available capacity now stands at approximately 350MW against a national peak demand of 413MW.
Phiri said Escom was banking on the 50MW Malawi-Mozambique Power Interconnector and is fast-tracking power purchase agreements with independent producers such as Mzuzu University (50MW), Nyika Hydropower (51MW) and Lapri Biomass (3MW) to bridge the gap.
In a related development, an Egenco Generation Control Centre report released yesterday indicated that total available generation was at 347.35MW against an installed capacity of 444.67MW.
The report further indicated that most of the country’s electricity is generated from hydropower stations, which together produced 283.85MW. Thermal and solar sources contributed less than one megawatt combined, mainly due to fuel shortages and cloudy conditions that limited solar output.
Egenco confirmed that Tedzani III Unit 5 remains offline since December 2024 due to burnt generator stator windings but original equipment supplier is finalising processes to start repairs while Nkula B Unit 5 tripped on a 66kV earth fault Friday but restoration efforts are underway. It also said that several diesel powered stations, including Kanengo and Lilongwe A were unavailable due to fuel scarcity and outdated control systems.
The report also highlighted that water flow at the Liwonde Barrage was measured at 512.97 cubic metres per second while headpond levels at Nkula, Tedzani and Kapichira stations stood at 376.7m, 319.0m, and 144.5m above sea level, respectively levels considered sufficient for limited hydropower generation.
