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Ministry upbeat on electricity output

Ministry of Energy has projected that electricity generation capacity will reach 1 620 megawatts (MW) by 2030, way below the 5 000MW target to turn Malawi into a lower middle-income economy.

The ministry’s position is contained in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for 20 years from 2022 to 2042, which was published in September 2024.

The IRP was published at a time it was clear that the country could not meet the 1000MW generation capacity target by the end of this year.

The ministry’s chief energy officer Austin Theu said in an interview yesterday that among others, the new strategy estimates demand to rise to 1 291MW by 2030 while generation capacity reaches 1 500MW with the Malawi-Mozambique power interconnector expected to add 120MW to the national grid.

“Peak demand by 2030 is projected to be around 1 291MW under the high case scenario while the base case is projected at  774MW,” said Theu.

Among key generation projects the ministry is banking on include the gas power plant of 50MW, Wovwe, Nyika Mbongozi and Thyolo hydro power plants which will add 320MW  and the 300MW Mpatamanga Hydro Power Plant between 2028 and 2030.

In an interview yesterday, former minister of Energy Grain Malunga described the targets as achievable if government prioritises production industries by ensuring resources are available to the energy sector.

He said: “I believe this is achievable only if priority is given to the production sector. That is to say give the energy sector the needed resources to generate electricity and support manufacturing, mining and agriculture sectors, which will generate foreign exchange.

On his part, former Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi chief executive officer Kandi Padambo said some Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are not forthcoming to invest because electricity tariffs in Malawi are not cost-reflective and are too low to recover long-run marginal costs of an investment cycle.

He said: “Our tariffs, which some from outside Malawi view as very low, are seen as high by the average Malawian.

“This is the paradox we face in attracting investors to invest in our generation sector.”

Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola, in an interview on Sunday, remained optimistic that the vision to boost electricity remains intact because of promising projects in the pipeline such as Mpatamanga Hydro Power Plant on Shire River.

By 2024, all IPPs with planned operational date of between 2023 and 2024 missed the deadline attributing the challenge to foreign exchange shortages to procure the necessary equipment.

In an earlier interview, Ministry of Energy director of electricity Million Mafuta said of the 11 IPPs that were projected to add 343.26MW to the national grid by 2024, only four rolled out.

These are JCM Power (Salima and Golomoti), Serengeti Plant in Nkhotakota, Mulanje Hydro Power Plant and Mulanje Cedar Hydro.

The current total installed electricity capacity is at 554.24MW, with 101MW from solar power, according to the Ministry of Energy.

Malawi is set to resume major mining projects in the second quarter of this year that will require enough power.

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