By Wezzie Gausi
State-owned Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has set an ambitious target of connecting more than 180,000 new customers with electricity by June next year.
The connection would be done under Escom’s Malawi Electricity Access Programme (Meap II).
Through the programme, Escom has already connected 83,000 households.
In an interview, Escom Chief Operations Officer Maxwell Mulimakwenda said amid challenges faced during the first phase, the company met its target.
He said the second phase is anchored on the success recorded.
“As Escom, it takes about K800, 000 to connect a customer which is a huge amount of money. But through the programme, we are hoping to connect as many people as possible if resources allow.
“We will be utilising all our available resources to help us in the connection process as the numbers are huge. But we will be providing more information at a later stage,” Mulimakwenda said.
Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change Chairperson Werani Chilenga commended Escom for progress in the Meap project.
But he challenged the utility body on transparency.
“We are only hoping for the best as many people are looking for connection. Of course, people are being made to pay something under Meap but the original plan was not like that,”Chilenga said.
Meanwhile, Escom has said it is working around the clock to resolve all problems that arise during connections.
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