Egenco for alternative energy sources—CEO

Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) plans to diversity electricity generation sources to increase available power for the country.

In an interview on the sidelines of a tour at Tedzani Power Station on Friday, Egenco chief executive officer William Liabunya said they want to explore alternative sources of energy such as solar, coal and  also diversifying hydro from the Shire River to other water sources.

“As a company, we see our role of leading in power generation and generating power for generations to come.

“Our hope is not just in natural phenomenon alone, hoping for more rainfall, but the vision that both government and Egenco have for the entire power sector. Soon we will be rolling out these alternative power sources,” he said.

Liabunya called for continued commitment from government and developing partners towards improving the power sector.

He said the change in Electricity Act, power sector reforms and several other programmes have been effective and are creating an enabling environment for the company to operate and thrive.

Minister of Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Bright Msaka said in an interview it is now the responsibility of Egenco to make more investments in power generation.

“We expect the company to be leaders in power generation. We want to find them in solar, coal, wind, geothermal and whatever technology exists for power generation.

“The company must take the lead along with other independent power producers [IPPs],” he said.

Malawi has in recent times been experiencing inadequate power supply and prolonged power outages, a situation which necessitated power sector reforms and several other interventions championed by government and non-governmental organisations.

Last year, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) was split into Escom residual and Egenco, a generation company as part of the power sector reforms to improve generation and distribution infrastructure.

This is part of the  power sector reform project, a component of the $350.1 million (about K242 billion) United States of America (USA) government-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) energy compact that seeks to improve generation and distribution infrastructure to ensure efficiency.