Escom to add 34MW to power grid by 2017

Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has said it will add 34 megawatts (MW) to its power grid by 2017 following rehabilitation works at Nkula A and Tedzani IV.

Escom system operations and power trading manager Patrick Kadewere said this on Monday in Blantyre at an industrial stakeholders meeting the power supplier in collaboration with the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) held for their maximum demand customers.

The works on Nkula A will be implemented as part of a five-year energy compact with funding from Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) amounting to $350.7 million designed to contribute to the country’s efforts in reducing poverty through sustainable economic growth.

Kadewere said rehabilitation works at Nkula A and Tedzani IV from January 2016, which will last two years, will help to improve efficiency and capacity by 12MW and 22MW respectively.

He said: “We will shut down Nkula A to work on rehabilitation of the plant, which is 50 years old now and we aim to increase its lifespan by 30 years. What this means is that the first two weeks of January 2016, Malawi should brace for more blackouts as our engineers will shut down both Nkula A, which has a capacity of 24MW and Nkula B which has a capacity of 100MW.

“In total, 124MW capacity will be withdrawn from the total generating capacity of 351MW.”

Kadewere said the utility company will be doing the works in phases.

In his remarks, Escom marketing and business development manager Wiseman Kabwazi said as an intervention, they will be installing diesel generators in all the country’s three regions to help reduce the impact of power outage nationwide. n