Electricity Generation Company of Malawi (Egenco) says it has resumed normal power generation at Nkula and Kapichira hydropower stations, assuring of normal and improved electricity supply.
Due to incessant rains the country experienced last week, Egenco shut down its Nkula A and B and Kapichira power stations after debris blocked intake screens.
Speaking during a tour of Nkula by Minster of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Aggrey Masi on Sunday, Egenco chief executive officer William Liabunya said almost all machines are now up and running days after they were shut down, reducing power generation to 161 megawatts (MW) against the demand of 351MW.
He said: “After the disaster, we only had Tedzani running, but presently last but two machines have been put back to work.
“As of now, we are remaining with one unit which might take longer because it had an explosion of the transformer, but an assessment team is currently on the ground to rectify the problem.”
Liabubya said currently, about 306MW of electricity is available for distribution.
On his part, Masi justified the move by Egenco to temporarily shut down the machines, saying if left to run, they would have been completely damaged.
“If not for the swift action by the engineers here, the situation could have almost been a national disaster. We could have been in a blackout for a long time, but thanks to the team for coming in handy to control the problem,” he said.
Between 2014 to last year, Malawians experienced power cuts that at times lasted 18 hours a day due to lower water levels in Shire River, the main source of hydro power generation.
During the current rainy season, Malawi has received consistent rains and normal power supply resumed in December last year.
Source: The Nation _Orama Chiphwanya, March 12, 2019