Malawians should expect electricity supply to stabilise by December as effort is deployed towards restoring broken machines at Nkula A and Nkula B power stations, Minister of Energy Jean Mathanga said.
State-run Electricity Generation Company is working on restoring about 31 megawatts (mw) of electricity at Nkula A and Nkula B stations.
Speaking after touring the power stations on Tuesday, Mathanga said some machines at Nkula B were not operating at full capacity.
“But I am happy to say that the spare parts that were needed to fix those machines are on their way,” she said.
The arrival of the spare parts is expected to facilitate repairs to the affected machines and improve their performance, potentially increasing the station’s contribution to the national electricity grid.
Meanwhile, Egenco Chief Executive Officer William Liabunya has said the company has established an El Niño Risk Management Taskforce to identify potential risks and implement measures to protect electricity generation.
“We have formed what we call the El Niño Risk Management Task Force, which is in place and reporting directly to management on a two-weekly basis to make sure that we have all mitigation measures in place,” he said.
The task force is intended to strengthen the company’s preparedness for the potential effects of El Niño on power generation, particularly where changing weather patterns could affect water availability for hydropower stations.
Malawi continues to experience electricity supply challenges, with power outages affecting households, businesses and other sectors that depend on a reliable supply to operate efficiently.