Bear with Escom on blackouts – Malawi President
President Peter Mutharika on Monday spoke openly, for the first time, about the continued electricity blackouts, and urged the nation to be patient.
Malawi have, for the past six months, been experiencing massive electricity blackouts which Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) attributed to low water levels in Lake Malawi and low flows in the Shire river.
The country’s generation capacity now stands at 211.04 megawatts against a demand of 278 megawatts.
On Monday, Mutharika speaking to journalists at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe, said he was aware of the situation and defended Escom’s efforts to improve the situation.
”I am aware of electricity problems, its strategic problem. Escom is working out the issue. The problem is water levels,” said Mutharika.
Mutharika said was hopeful the situation would improve especially with coming in of Chinese funded Kamwamba coal-fired power station which is to add about 300-megawatt (MW).
”The minister of energy and Escom are doing their best to rectify the problem. I ask everybody to bear with us as we doing our best”.
Malawians are currently facing long hours without electricity as Escom revealed that generation capacity at its Nkula and Tedzani Hydro power stations has gone down by 50 percent.
Escom has been attributing the persistent blackouts to low water levels in Lake Malawi and Shire River.
However, in August the institution took a contradictory step and admitted to the nation that the current blackouts are a result of faulty power generating machines.
Tulo a prezidenti phwi … why back ESCOM’s failures?
Wakuba upulezidenti
Zamunyansayo asamuke ku Malawi kuno, kapena apange Donate Genset tht can supply Electricity to the whole Nation. Ths z Engineering language, period…!!!
This small country is failing to be managed. No wonder the economy is going down. So many small and big businesses can’t do without electricity as a result their purchasing power is low and it affects all other businesses.
The president should be putting pressure on ESCOM, but instead he is patting them at their back.
TOWARDS NO POWER ALL DAY EVERY DAY
chi escom cha manyi ….chi dpp cha manyinso
Huge bills every month but we are having a total of 5 days with electricity per month.Tikangoiwotcha Escom basi sanalakwitse kuotcha poyamba paja
What does 50% capacity of generation mean? How long before the 300 mw is added?
Sad that the president is dragged into ESCOM lies. The blackouts we are facing now have nothing to do with rains – too much or too little or vandalism. This is another of the so many leadership gaps the country is facing. We do not need an engineer to run ESCOM at the top but we need a good CEO who can understand current issues and face them head on rather than cover them up with lies. We need a CEO who can hold his non performing staff accountable. Leadership is the main reason for blackouts. The solution may not… Read more »
This is the hallmark of a clueless, out of touch president. These blackouts have been going on for months and the idiot begs for patience? Why has he only now made a public statement on the issue, and only after being asked to comment by a journalist? Is this guy serious? How many people have the blackouts killed in ourhospitals, and how much business have Malawians lost as a result of the blackouts? In Lilongwe, the blackouts have been happening on a daily basis for long hours. People have complained bitterly in the papers, over the radio, on TV, and… Read more »
Nyapapi can’t appreciate the gravity of the hardships Malawians are enduring with ESCOM’s incompetency! He has Malawians paying for fuel for his mega-heavy-duty gen set at the State House.