Malawians fed up with Escom over continued blackouts despite rainfall resumption

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawians on  Social Media are blasting the country’s utility body, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) for the continued blackouts despite torrential rainfall in the country.

Citizens are wondering what other excuses Escom could give for failing to provide reliable electricity to Malawi consumers.

Lack of reliable power has attributed to slow production in the manufacturing industry and small-scales businesses including welding, barbershops, maize milling, and saloons among others.

Mid last month, November, Escom told local press that the rains currently falling in some part of the country especially in the south were not a guarantee to stabilize electricity flow.

Through its Public Relations Officer, George Mituka hinted that 260 cubic metres per second (cumecs) was the amount of water flows for the Shire River to avert unstoppable blackouts.

Mituka said the river’s current flow was at 115 cubic metres per second against 260 cumecs required to normalize the situation.

But on Tuesday, the general public on the social media took to task the utility body for failing to give concrete reasons as to why blackout is worsening despite heavy rainfall pouring across the nation couple with floods.

Dickson Kashoti, a renowned journalist on Facebook took swipe at Natural Resources and Energy Minister Bright Msaka recent remarks that blackout was over following offset of rains.

But to his surprise, shameless blackouts remain unpalatable dosage to shallow in many Malawian lives which they have been experiencing the entire half of the 2016.

Kashoti queried Escom’s statement that the current blackout is again due to heavy rains that has brought debris in the hydro power stations at Nkula and Tedzani falls.

“Then at a recent rally by our beloved HE at Masintha ground in Lilongwe, Natural Resources and Energy Minister Bright Msaka described as “Chibwana (childish)” hopes that blackouts would come to an end following the onset of the rains.

“True to his words of “Chibwana” the blackouts are not coming to an end despite the fact that we have devastating heavy rains. Instead, Escom says the blackouts are due to heavy rains that brought debris is Escom hydro power stations. “Chibwana”, I presume”, fumed Kashoti.

Commenting on the same, Francis Tayanjah Phiri, another media guru wondered as why the utility body could buy expensive vehicles for its bosses when it’s failing to serve Malawians with quality services.

Victor M Mkolongo added, “The money they get some of it is meant to pay for the billboards you see in town written “patriotism, integrity and hard work’. Also some money pays political party functions since current parties are funded by tax payer’s money not through their own initiative”.

But in his national address on last month, President Peter Mutharika offered short solutions to avert electricity blackouts including procurement of 46 Mega Watts’s diesel peaking generators which will be ready for use in Lilongwe and Mzuzu, acquiring of 78 Mega Watts of Emergency Power Plant by ESCOM on lease basis for an initial estimated period of 18 months.

While long term solutions include generation, Transmission and Distribution Expansion and Reinforcement, the carrying capacity of the Transmission Lines will have increased to about 1,150MW by 2018 and a 400kV Transmission Line is currently being constructed from Phombeya (Balaka) to Nkhoma.

The Line is expected to be completed by September 2018. The Phombeya Sub-Station will be the landing point for the Malawi-Mozambique Interconnector.