Government says the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) is still facing challenges as at the moment it is buying power and selling it to Malawians.
Currently, many parts of the country are facing persistent blackouts.
But what is happening now is different from the assurance the minister of Natural Resources Energy and Mining Bright Msaka made last year that by the beginning of the year 2017 the power problems would be over.
However, while touring Escom’s 400kv Power Substation in Balaka on Thursday the minister said the electricity supplier is still facing challenges in providing power to Malawians because it is not generating electricity.
He said beginning this year, Escom was unbundled and now it is buying power and selling it to Malawians.
“Escom was unbundled on the 1st of January 2017 and at the moment it is buying power and selling it to Malawians as at the moment Escom is not generating power,” said Msaka.
The minister however urged Escom to always communicate to Malawians on why they are not supplying enough power to them and they need to do that on regular basis.
He said the big challenge is that despite having rains at the moment, water levels in Lake Malawi are at the lowest level.
He added that they are making sure that they conserve water during the current rainy season so that the generation will be easy in the dry season.
