Malawi power companies write govt over extended  blackouts

Lilongwe experienced an early electricity black out on Monday just two days after Escom and Egenco, state power companies, wrote the ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, Water and Irrigation to increase the flow of water at Liwonde Barrage.

In  a letter seen by Nyasa Times, Escom and Egenco want the ministry to increase the flow of water controlled at Liwonde Barrage by 20 percent to meet the demand of hydro power.

The country needs at least 350 megawatts of electricity at its peak demand but Egenco currently generates 200 megawatts.

The letter says the control of water at Liwonde was arrived at to avert flooding in Lower Shire districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje.

The ministry is yet to respond to the demand by Egenco and Escom but a water engineer working in government has laughed off the matter that the control of the water at Liwonde was to avert floods in Lower Shire.

He said floods in Lower Shire is as a result of heavy down pour in Blantyre and Thyolo, saying Liwonde was a long distance to have its water have a direct flooding in Nsanje and Chikhwawa.

The persistent power black out, which goes more than eight hours to 12 hours a day, comes at a time when the government has hired generators to increase power on the grid.

Egenco publicist Moses Gwaza told a radio station on Sunday the situation would change after all the gensets are installed in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu.

He dismissed allegations that Egenco is failing to buy fuel for the gensets hence the current spate of power blackouts.

Electricity tariffs were raised from K58 per hour to K73 per hour to cater for the budget of the fuel.