State-run Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has said it plans to clear the 70,000 new connections backlog by December 2023 through the World Bank-funded Malawi Electricity Access Project (Meap).
In a statement, the parastatal says the project has gathered momentum, with workers extending service delivery beyond working hours. Long service jobs involve erection of poles for new connections.
According to Escom, the project seeks to connect 83,000 households by December 2023 and 180,000 by June 2024.
Meanwhile, some 30,372 singe phase households have been connected as of June 30 2023.
Meap Manager McDivings Longwe said, initially, unconnected customers within a 500-meter radius to existing Escom infrastructure were targeted as the long service jobs were subject to the World Bank’s approval of the project’s Environmental and Social Screening (ESS) report.
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“The World Bank has now approved the ESS report such that we are now connecting jobs inclusive of those that have got poles. This is an assurance to the customers who paid up some time back but we could not connect them because of this screening report,” Longwe said.
Currently, 13,221 new connections have been registered in the Southern Region, 10,074 in the Central Region and 7,077 in the North between February and June.
The project is part of the government’s efforts to increase access to electricity, which currently stands at around 12 percent.
To qualify for the project, customers must have done wiring and paid K93,200 connection fee for single phase connections or must be those who can apply now and fulfill all the processes before the June 30 2024 project deadline.
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The Meap project was officially launched on December 23 2022.
