Powering Growth: Egenco Revitalizes Nkula Station, Energizes Malawi’s Economy

Key Business Points

• Power generation restored: Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) has resumed power generation at Nkula Power Station, increasing available capacity to 367 megawatts (mw) from 232mw, offering relief to businesses and households affected by recent blackouts.
• Planned maintenance complete: The maintenance work at Nkula A and B power stations has been completed, ensuring functional trash-rakes to protect machines from debris and provide an uninterrupted power supply during the rainy season.
• Power deficit persists: Despite the improvement, Malawi still operates with a power deficit, affecting industries and households, with Escom forecasting unmet demand of up to 66mw during evening peak hours, prompting continued scheduled load shedding.

The recent restoration of power generation at Nkula Power Station is a welcome development for Malawi’s business community, which has been grappling with intensified blackouts in recent weeks. The shutdown of power stations for planned maintenance ahead of the rainy season had worsened the outages, forcing Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) to extend load shedding beyond the normal schedule. However, with the completion of maintenance work at Nkula A and B, Egenco has increased available capacity, offering some relief to businesses and households.

According to Egenco Senior Public Relations Officer Moses Gwaza, the maintenance work was crucial to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the rainy season. "The work that we are doing is very important because it means we now have functional trash-rakes to protect our machines from debris, especially during this rainy season," Gwaza said. This development is particularly significant for industries that rely on steady electricity for production, as persistent blackouts had disrupted production, with some companies halting operations for long hours, according to Manufacturers Association of Malawi President Gloria Zimba.

Despite the improvement, Malawi continues to operate with a power deficit, affecting both households and industries. Escom’s latest update shows available capacity at 432.94mw by day and 373.55mw at night, but not all of this capacity is being fed to the grid, with 45mw during the day and 32.4mw at night held as spinning reserves for system stability. The utility is forecasting unmet demand of up to 66mw during evening peak hours, prompting continued scheduled load shedding. As Gloria Zimba noted, "persistent blackouts had disrupted production, with some companies halting operations for long hours," highlighting the need for a reliable power supply to support business operations.

To address the energy gap, the government is accelerating solar projects, according to Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Minister Jean Mathanga. This development is expected to provide new opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs in the renewable energy sector. As the country continues to grapple with power deficits, businesses can explore alternative energy sources, such as solar power, to reduce their reliance on the national grid. In Chichewa, this is known as "mipango ya nkhondo ya chisanzo", or a plan for energy independence. By diversifying their energy sources, businesses can mitigate the impact of load shedding and ensure "kugwira ntchito kwambiri", or maximum productivity. With the government’s efforts to accelerate solar projects, Malawi’s business community can look forward to a more stable and reliable energy supply, which is essential for economic growth and investment opportunities.

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