Shortage of forex for importing electricity equipment is one of the challenges acting as a stumbling block to Malawi’s dream of achieving 1000mw electricity by 2025.
This is according to Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) Director of Agro Industrialisation and Infrastructure Development Enwell Kadango.
In an interview at the end of an Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) and Power Sector Coordination Pre- Lab meeting at Bingu International Convention Center (BICC) in Lilongwe, Kadango said authorities are doing everything possible to meet the 1000mw target come 2025.
According to Kadango, authorities are assisting investors on a case by case basis.
“Forex is an issue in the country, we all know. What we are doing as a country is to assist people case by case just as we are doing the roads today. They need to buy bitumen from outside, they need to do whatever.
“Similarly, as we produce solar power’s generation, they need to buy some things from outside. But we should recognise that as a country we continue to face a shortage of forex. Until that is resolved, then things will be better,” he said.
He cited an example of the Malawi-Mozambique Interconnector where Malawi wanted to tap 120mws from Mozambique but will now get 50mws because of shortage of forex.
Kadango observed that so far, about 24 firms have agreed to produce power as independent power producers and that three are finishing the process of signing while others are already producing and giving power to Escom.
The pre-lab isolated 19 challenges affecting the energy industry and will be taken to the main lab starting this week.
Apart from forex shortage, the pre-lab also highlighted the challenge of cost reflective tariffs.
According to Kadango, nine of the challenges need special meetings with the responsible stakeholders on how best to resolve them.
Director of Electricity in the Ministry of Energy Million Mafuta said most of the challenges dogging the sector are not new but that there is need for a business unusual approach to address them.
Mafuta said during the main lab this week, there will be two sections as some of the challenges will require high-level interventions while some will require technical interventions.
Currently the state-owned Electricity Generation Company has a total installed generation capacity of 441.95mw, with 390.55mw from hydro power plants and 51.4mw from thermal power plants.
Ironically, the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2017 projects that demand for electricity will increase to excess of 1200mw and 2500mw by 2025 and 2035, respectively.
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