Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) has said it has put in place strategies to, in the eventuality of floods, minimise cases of power outage during the rainy season.
Egenco Chief Executive Officer engineer Maxon Chitawo told The Daily Times that the power generator was working with stakeholders to ensure that business is not affected due to power disruptions.
This year, the Department of Climate Change and Metrological Services has predicted that the country would experience La Nina weather.
La Nina is characterised by normal to above-normal rainfall.
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With over 50 percent of Malawi’s power generation plants located on the Shire River, power generation is affected during the rainy season, especially due to flooding and siltation.
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Chitawo said it was important for Egenco to put in place measures to ensure continued power generation even when the country experiences above-normal rainfall.
“To avoid losing the power stations as well as to avoid losing the power that we have, we had to prepare a plan so that we continue with power generation and supply it to the nation.
“So, this plan is very critical for the nation, for us as a company, for our continuity but also for the supply of power to the nation. So, it [ensuring continued supply] is very important to both the company and to the nation,” Chitawo said.
In terms of backup power, Chitawo said Egenco had diesel generators, some of which were up and running.
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He added that they were fixing generators that were not working to ensure that Malawi has about 35 megawatts (mw) to 40mw of backup power come February.
In January 2022, Tropical Cyclone Ana damaged machines at Kapichira Hydro Power Station in Chikwawa District, taking out 129.6mw or an equivalent of 23 percent of the country’s power supply off the national grid.
The development triggered prolonged power rationing of up to 10 hours.
Department of Climate Change and Metrological Services Director Lucy Mtilatila has since hailed Egenco for coming up with plans on how to hedge against the possible effects of La Nina.
“You know, hydropower generation is climate sensitive; so, I commend Egenco for what it is doing to be ahead of the times. Because you know climate, weather is here for us and extreme events are becoming more frequent.
“So it is important to be ready with such kind of events so that we are able to respond in time,” Mtilatila said.
Earlier this month, the National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) indicated that water levels in Lake Malawi and the Shire River were high, warning people who stay along lakeshore areas and the Shire Valley of possible flooding.
NWRA Chief Executive Officer Dwight Kambuku said the country was expected to receive normal to above-normal rainfall, which he said was likely to increase the already high water levels in Lake Malawi and the Shire River.
“As of December 10 2024, levels in the lake were around 475.25 metres above sea level compared to the same date last year, when the level was 474.93 metres above sea level, a different of about 32 centimetres. This is very terrifying,” Kambuku said.
The water authority then advised people who reside in disaster-prone areas in the Shire Valley to take a precautionary measure by moving upland.
“Take these warning seriously”, he said.
Kambuku also urged people in lakeshore districts such as Mangochi to consult the authority for advice before engaging in development activities along the lakeshore areas.
