Blantyre, January 5, 2018: It was all smiles on Thursday evening in Blantyre when residents witnessed the arrival of the much awaited Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM)’s 55 megawatts stand – by diesel powered generators.
Malawi News Agency (Mana) witnessed the arrival of the generators which are meant to mitigate the frequent power outages the citizenry have been experiencing in the recent times.
ESCOM’s Board Chairperson, Perks Ligoya, told MANA in an interview after receiving the energy – driving facility on behalf of Malawi Government, that soon the power outages the country has been grappling with would be a thing of the past.
Ligoya said the arrival of the generators would contribute to the improvement of power supply by reducing blackouts, thereby improving the country’s economy.
While assuring consumers that installation of the generators would commence soon, Ligoya was non-committal on when exactly the generators would be installed in the proposed and designated sites.
“All stakeholders and valued consumers shall definitely be communicated on the time frame, but the truth of the matter is that the installation will commence anytime soon so that the stand-by power mitigating measure serves its intended purpose,” Ligoya stressed.
President Professor Peter Mutharika assured people in the country during a surprise visit to a board meeting between ESCOM and Energy Generation Company (EGENCO) towards the end of last year (2017), that government would improve the energy sector by among other things, installing stand-by diesel generators.
“I understand the frustration that people have with regard to the power situation being experienced in the country where production has slowed down.
“But all this is happening because we did not invest in the sector for the past 50 years. We hope the situation will improve soon following the initiatives we have made towards the sector,” the President had said.
(Source: http://www.manaonline.gov.mw/index.php/business/item/7432-escom-diesel-powered-generators-arrive-in-the-country)