Malawi electricity problems to ease: Kapichira II commissioning Friday
President Joyce Banda will on Friday 17th January, 2014 preside over the official commissioning of the Kaphichira Phase II hydroelectric power project which will add 64 megawats to the national power grid.
The first phase of the Kapichira hydropower station was commissioned in 2000.
With the addition of Kapichira Phase ll to the national power grid, the total ESCOM generation capacity is now at 351MW against a forecast peak demand of 350MW. The increased supply will ease power problems in the country.
Accoridng to State House Press Secretary Steve Nhlane, President Banda will also commission a 30km, 132kV transmission line from Kapichira Power Station to Blantyre -West Substation together with a 50MVA transformer at the Blantyre-West Substation at Green Corner.
The transmission line will ease transfer of the additional power from Kapichira into the National Power grid.
The US$55million project has been financed by the Government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Energy. The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited (ESCOM) has implemented and supervised the project.
Apart from increasing power supply nationally, a total of 21 rural centres are being electrified across the country, a development that has been made possible because of the improved power generation and supply.
The energy sector is one of the five pillars that government identified to improve the country’s economy under the Economic Recovery Plan unveiled last year. Other sectors are Tourism, Mining, Infrastructure and Agriculture.
Following the successful completion of this project, Kapichira Power Station is now the largest on the ESCOM system with a total installed capacity of 128MW, that is 4MW more than the Nkula Power Station that has a total installed capacity of 124MW.
Malawi has also been in negotiations with Mozambique regarding supply from that source.
