Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) says it will soon cease to exist if it does not hike electricity tariffs in the country by more than 40 per cent.
Speaking at a press briefing today, ESCOM Chief executive officer Kamkwamba Kumwenda said since its unbundling in 2018, the company has been operating on a loss and the amount lost has hit K112 billion.
According to Kumwenda, ESCOM buys electricity from power producers at K140 per kilowatt per hour and sells the same to end-user consumers at K104 per kilowatt, per hour.
“ESCOM is slowly dying. It is either we close ESCOM or increase the tariffs. We are proposing automated price adjustments. We are currently negotiating with the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) to increase the tariffs,” said Kumwenda.
ESCOM buys most of its power from Electricity Generation Company of Malawi which is struggling to produce enough power for Malawians through its hydropower stations.
Currently, the country experiences blackouts lasting eight hours per day.
Follow us on Twitter:
ESCOM still exist? Here we’re dependant on solar and the mbaula. I’m surprised ESCOM get any revenue from the public given the amount of loadshedding. ESCOM are clearly mismanaged.