There are concerns over safety of Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) workers who are removing debris at the company’s power stations.
A video posted on social media show workers, wearing reflector vests and standing about a metre from raging waters, removing debris with bare hands at a power station.
On Twitter, Edgar Beyani described the work as risky and called on the company to find a way to mechanize the process.
Risky it is, as @EgencoMw workers try to rid the power stations of debris to fully restore power. Can't we mechanise this? What about safety of employees? But anyway thanks to them for the risk they are taking. Komabe…@chavulaj pic.twitter.com/ALTcGgs2Ed
— Edgar Kapiza Bayani (@BayaniEdgar) January 30, 2022
Another Twitter user argued that there has to be an “effective way” of removing the debris.
Look shout-out to them for what they are doing but surely there's a more effective way to do this?? Surely https://t.co/qdfW4KFOjj
— JJ🌸👑🌊 (@I_Am_Artanis) January 31, 2022
Twitter user Tanaka said: “Occupational health and safety I don’t know why it’s never taken seriously here in Malawi on the ground despite having these stuff in their policies.”
Occupational health and safety I don’t know why it’s never taken seriously here in Malawi on the ground despite having these stuff in their policies https://t.co/3wXHu7Hwg5
— 🆃🅰🅽🅰🅺🅰 🇲🇼 (@TanakaChirombo1) January 31, 2022
Floods caused by Tropical Storm Ana have affected EGENCO’s power stations in the Southern Region.
The company has been forced to shut down 129MW Kapichira Power Station due to damage of its intake.
At Nkula Power Station, excessive trash is still being deposited to intakes.
EGENCO said yesterday that one of its trash-raking machine got stuck under water due to excessive trash and differential pressure created by such amounts of trash.
Last night, the company announced plans to shut down Nkula B Power Station in order to retrieve the trash-raking machine and send divers to inspect the underwater trash screening equipment so that we ascertain the condition of the trash screens to ensure adequate protection of the machines.
