Malawi, Mozambique sign agreement on power interconnection

In a bid to address a chronic blackouts hitting the country, Malawi has signed technical and commercial agreements with Mozambique for the sharing of power.

Speaking during the signing ceremony held at Bingu International Convention Center-BICC in Lilongwe Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Aggrey Masi said the project is crucial because the country’s current power source encounters a lot of challenges which have resulted in failure to provide sufficient power supply to citizens.

He added that climate change has negatively impacted levels of water which has affected the reliability of power supply in Malawi.

Masi also admitted that interventions aiming at addressing the load shedding problems like the use of generators are expensive to run.

“For us to appreciate the importance of the interconnector, let me give you a quick overview of power generation in the country especially on the impact that the interconnector would have on the power supply situation in Malawi. Malawi depends much on hydropower. We generate 90 percent of power from water but look at the current, situation climate change is not doing well for us,” said Masi.

In his remarks, Mozambique’s Mineral Resources and energy Minister Ernesto Max Elias Tonela said Malawi and Mozambique are in good terms and sharing resources should not appall anybody.

Tonela further expressed hope that the project will help in boosting economies of both countries.

“There has been a long dialogue involved to reach to the agreement. But Mozambique is ready to work hand in hand with Malawi only to ensure that these two nations develop. We are starting to deliver 50 percent when the project is done but we will not end there, Mozambique is geared to provide power to Malawian government to meet the demand,” Tonela said.

Development partners that have rendered financial support to the project have urged both countries to speed up the processes to make the project mature.

Through the interconnection, Malawi will tap 50 Megawatts from Mozambique starting in 2022.

Malawi power generation mix consists of more than 90 percent of power generated from water.