ESCOM to construct two more power plants

Malawi’s ailing energy sector is expected to get a further boost of 64 Megawatts once the construction of two additional power plants at Kapichira Hydro power station in Chikhwawa District is completed in December 2013.

ESCOM officials say the project started in February this year and is being carried out by a Chinese construction firm and will cost the government 55 million US Dollars.

The development comes following complaints from members of the general public who have accused the country’s sole electricity supplier on of failing to tackle the issue of power failure decisively.

The private sector has also pointed at the erratic power supply as a major contributing factor to the poor performance of the manufacturing industry and various businesses which in turn has had a negative impact on the economic growth of the country.

The statement from Escom officials also comes after the provision of a 350 million dollar grant by the MCC board of the US government to revamp the energy sector.

Chief Executive officer of ESCOM, Peter Ntonda told the media that the development “will go a long way in dealing with the problem of load shedding which has come about due to the high demand of electricity.”

Nearly 95% of Malawi’s electricity supply is provided by hydropower from a cascaded group of interconnected hydroelectric power plants located on the middle part of Shire River and a mini hydro on the Wovwe River, which constitute the interconnected system.