Renewables & Energy Efficiency News Malawi

Subscribe

Advertise your job ad
    Search jobs

    Drought behind worsening power outages in Malawi

    BLANTRYE - Large parts of Malawi have been plunged into darkness as water levels at the country's main hydro power plant fell to critical levels due to a severe drought, the electricity company said...
    Kapichila hydro power station. Photo: Afriem
    Kapichila hydro power station. Photo: Afriem

    The impoverished southern African country which relies on hydroelectricity has been hit by intermitted blackouts since last year, but the outages have recently worsened, lasting up to 25 hours.

    The state-owned Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) said power output had been halved as water levels in the Shire River dropped to critical levels.

    The water from the river normally generates a total of 300 megawatts of electricity, which is 98% of the country's supply.

    "For the past three weeks, the available capacity was 160 megawatts," said Escom in a statement.

    Affected areas include large parts of the capital Lilongwe and in the second city of Blantyre.

    A number of businesses and hospitals in the country had been forced to use diesel-powered generators to keep the lights on.

    According to the World Bank, only 8% of Malawi's 17-million people have access to electricity.

    Source: AFP

    Source: I-Net Bridge

    For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

    We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

    Go to: http://www.inet.co.za
    Let's do Biz