Concerned citizens protest Malawi electricity blackouts: Egenco to airlift gensets from India

Civil society organisations (CSO) on Wednesday led street protests on critical issues if national importance including the prevailing extended power outages and petitioned Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) to end the blackouts that is affecting the economic fabric of the nation.

Concerns citizens protests blackouts

Petitioners on the streets protesting power blackouts

The protestors who carried placard which read ‘Escom Mwalephera’ [Escom you have failed us] also demanded, among others, that President Peter Mutharika should make a special national address on the electricity crisis.

Despite the low turnout estimated at about 100 people, the petitioners presented a five-point petition which also demand that Parliament should summon chief executive officers of Escom and Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) to account for their actions.

They also demand the institutional forensic audit of ESCOM and Egenco in order to unearth the real challenges making the companies underperform and fail Malawians.

Human rights activist Billy Mayaya presented the petition to Escom acting regional manager (Centre) McVitty Chiphwanya.

Meanwhile, Nyasa Times understands that Egenco plans to airlift diesel-powered generators with a capacity of six megawatts (MW)  and a 30MW  from India before the end of the year.

Egenco chief executive officer William Liabunya said the generation capacity will be negatively affected until water levels in Lake Malawi and its sole outlet, Shire River, home to over 90 percent of Egenco’s hydro-electric power stations, improved.

Escom, the distributor of electricity, has messed up the procurement of generators that were expected to add 78 MW to the national grid to minimise the intensity of current blackouts

In November 2016, President Mutharika, as part of short-term intervention measures into the power supply crisis, told the nation that Escom would acquire diesel-operated generators on lease basis for an initial estimated period of 18 months.

But the botched transaction has not only just affected electricity users, but also failed to meet one of Mutharika’s key objectives of his electricity agenda.

Malawi power generation woes have moved from bad to worse with a loss of 20 megawatts (MW) within a week, a situation that has prompted a drastic load shedding programme with some parts of the country staying without power over 24 hours.

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Medi Mbondo
Medi Mbondo
6 years ago

The main and cheap source of energy worldwide is coal. No blackouts in Europe very stable. Renewable energy (hydro) is auxiliary or secondary source of energy. You don’t expect the economic development of a nation to be supported by a secondary source of energy. Check energy mix for the US, Germany or any developed nation. Renewable energy source is less than 20% at most. We need to change our policy from depending on secondary sources to primary sources of energy. COAL.

Joseph Banda
Joseph Banda
6 years ago
Reply to  Medi Mbondo

A 100 MW coal plant churns through 53.800 kg of coal/hr or one 100.000kg coal hopper every 2nd hour or 372 coal hoppers/month. However since Malawi does not have any functioning railroads, we would need trucks. Each truck can load about 6000kg, meaning we will need 6,200 truckloads of coal every single month to keep the plant running. How do you imagine that will happen?

Jaja
6 years ago

The great Bushiri has arrive to sort it out don’t wary this problem you shall never see it again

dagobert
dagobert
6 years ago

Who is now the liar Mr President? At the 2017 Ijtmah a few days ago you told the nation :
“I never said they were in the country. I said they were coming. I am told they are being shipped. That is the information I have from the technical people.”
And I remember you where talking about 78 MW !? 30+ 6 =78 ?
I guess this time it’s not Chakwera the liar.
Maybe your “technical peoples”?

MBWELEKETE
MBWELEKETE
6 years ago

I want to thank the people that took part in the demonstrations, the demonstrations were peaceful albeit people being very angry of the ongoing crisis. I hope the president appreciates this as well as the first citizen constitutionally respected until next voting. Additionally, for the knowledge to exercise their right to demonstrate which all Malawians should embrace as part of patriotism in demanding what is their right. There is sense of duty in this to the nation. I would like to appeal to the current government in office and the ones in future not to politicize everything. Where there is… Read more »

dinky
dinky
6 years ago

musatukwane a pathfinder chakwera akutuma eti akupwetekesatu ufera zaeni ma black out daily dpp yalephera koma kudya gondolosi mwati pachizungu viagra basi ku mulakho wa lomwe zakukanikani apa tulani pansi udindo

MBWELEKETE
MBWELEKETE
6 years ago

No talk talk we need action in fact EGENCO AND ESCOM are 100% government osamyata apa make concrete decision to end the crisis. It is an economic crisis It is an environment crisis It is a political crisis It is a governance crisis .Remember this is not a today issue it was known by 2007. Strategically all government from that time to date have failed us on this as surely strategic plans were drawn and all we hear about is cash gate maize gate, self imposed exiles, so much lost at such and such office, misprocurements, Stop lying stop lying… Read more »

haward.maloni@yahoo.com
6 years ago

Chakwera musiyeni iye 2019 akunyamula bendera ya dziko ndipo mudzakhumudwa inu mbava za Dpp komanso pokhapokha mutayika Chilima koma osati otha ma plan ngati mukukakamirawa

n.tumbuka@yahoo.com
6 years ago

Aka kanali ka Demo. 5 Police Officers per demonstrator. Panganino demo yakuonongeka kwa chilengedwe which is depleting water in Lake Malawi and Shire River……make sure you involve onse owocha ndi ogula ndikugulitsa makala…….kkkkkk

CONTE
CONTE
6 years ago

But someone told Malawians that the gen set was shipped already. However, another one said the gen sets have not been shipped. So who is who here?
Which plane can carry a 6 MW get set? Probably in peaces? Too many stories about the gen sets.
And now it is India and not Dubai.

2019 woyeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

Mario pei
Mario pei
6 years ago
Reply to  CONTE

Someone meaning the pathological liar

Nganiza Muthulika
6 years ago

Malawians complains but when it comes to demonistrate cowards. Why do u complain? U are used to suffer.and quite. Malawi is a bush nation. So just keep staying and not complain.

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