Malawians enduring daily power cuts could begin seeing fewer blackouts by the second week of August after the government announced plans to inject an additional 80 megawatts into the national electricity grid.
Minister of Energy Jean Mathanga told Parliament that the extra power will come from new electricity generation projects and imports expected to be commissioned over the coming weeks.
Responding to a question from Salima Central West legislator Enock Phale on Tuesday, Mathanga said the government had lined up three major energy projects whose completion would improve electricity supply across the country.
She said a 20-megawatt Battery Energy Storage System at Kanengo will be commissioned on July 24, followed by the commissioning of the 10-megawatt Nanjoka Solar Power Plant in Salima on August 6.
Mathanga added that the Malawi-Mozambique Interconnector, which will import an additional 50 megawatts, is expected to be commissioned during the second week of August.
“All being equal, we should have all these projects come the second week of August,” Mathanga told Parliament, expressing confidence that the additional capacity would substantially reduce load shedding.
The minister acknowledged that electricity blackouts had become more severe over the past three months following the loss of 20 megawatts after a machine failure at the Nkula Hydropower Station.
She said replacing parts for the aging equipment had been challenging because the machine uses an old imperial-standard system, but the damaged unit has since been repaired and returned to service.
“I’m sure the outages have since reduced, at least in the past three weeks,” she said.
Mathanga attributed the country’s electricity supply challenges to years of underinvestment in generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, compounded by rapid growth in electricity demand that has outpaced available generation capacity.
Looking beyond the immediate interventions, she said government is implementing long-term projects to strengthen Malawi’s energy security, including the 358-megawatt Mpatamanga Hydropower Project, where contractor recruitment is underway ahead of expected full-scale works in January next year.
She also highlighted plans to develop the Eastern and Western Backbone transmission lines and attract private investment into power generation projects, including hydropower developments on the South Rukuru River in the north and two projects on the Bua River in the Central Region.
Earlier, Phale said frequent and prolonged power outages had evolved from an emergency into a national economic crisis, disrupting healthcare, education, industrial production, agriculture, digital enterprises and household livelihoods.
Minister of Energy Jean Mathanga told Parliament that the extra power will come from new electricity generation projects and imports expected to be commissioned over the coming weeks.
Responding to a question from Salima Central West legislator Enock Phale on Tuesday, Mathanga said the government had lined up three major energy projects whose completion would improve electricity supply across the country.
She said a 20-megawatt Battery Energy Storage System at Kanengo will be commissioned on July 24, followed by the commissioning of the 10-megawatt Nanjoka Solar Power Plant in Salima on August 6.
Mathanga added that the Malawi-Mozambique Interconnector, which will import an additional 50 megawatts, is expected to be commissioned during the second week of August.
“All being equal, we should have all these projects come the second week of August,” Mathanga told Parliament, expressing confidence that the additional capacity would substantially reduce load shedding.
The minister acknowledged that electricity blackouts had become more severe over the past three months following the loss of 20 megawatts after a machine failure at the Nkula Hydropower Station.
She said replacing parts for the aging equipment had been challenging because the machine uses an old imperial-standard system, but the damaged unit has since been repaired and returned to service.
“I’m sure the outages have since reduced, at least in the past three weeks,” she said.
Mathanga attributed the country’s electricity supply challenges to years of underinvestment in generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, compounded by rapid growth in electricity demand that has outpaced available generation capacity.
Looking beyond the immediate interventions, she said government is implementing long-term projects to strengthen Malawi’s energy security, including the 358-megawatt Mpatamanga Hydropower Project, where contractor recruitment is underway ahead of expected full-scale works in January next year.
She also highlighted plans to develop the Eastern and Western Backbone transmission lines and attract private investment into power generation projects, including hydropower developments on the South Rukuru River in the north and two projects on the Bua River in the Central Region.
Earlier, Phale said frequent and prolonged power outages had evolved from an emergency into a national economic crisis, disrupting healthcare, education, industrial production, agriculture, digital enterprises and household livelihoods.
