Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola has reiterated the need for Malawi to make more investments into alternative energy sources in a quest to deal with power supply woes.
Matola said the government is exploring wind and solar energy sources as complements to hydroelectric power generation.
This comes at a time the country is experiencing unprecedented power outages which stakeholders attribute to lack of proper investments in alternative power sources.
But speaking during an interface between Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) and private sector players on the advanced LED tube lighting project, Matola said there is a need for the country to manage demand for electricity if the current challenges are to be addressed.
“We agree that there is a need for proper investments and we are doing just that, but, on the other hand, we need as a country to manage the demand and the little power that we are generating by introducing innovative ways of reducing consumption,” Matola said.
The tube, introduced under a demand management initiative which Escom is implementing, does not use a lot of energy and is being installed in government premises including hospitals and schools, according to officials.
Escom Senior Manager for Customer and Commercial Services Wiseman Kabwazi has since stated that the new LED tubes will complement efforts that are aimed at reducing the demand for electricity in the country.
“As we are waiting for long-term investments in the sector, we need to adopt innovative ways of reducing usage of electricity through lighting, one of which is the tubes, and we hope that it will help us save more electricity which will in turn be used by other people,” Kabwazi.
Statistics show that about 30 percent of the electricity produced in the country goes into lighting.
Escom now targets to replace about 415,000 fluorescent bulbs with the new tubes to save about 9.3 megawatts.
Source: The Daily Times_February 9, 2023_By Eric Msikiti