By Wezzie Gausi:
The government has opened the national electricity grid to households, businesses and institutions generating solar power, allowing them to supply the excess to the grid.
Energy Minister Jean Mathanga made the announcement yesterday during the official launch of the net Metering Rules and e-Mobility Regulatory Framework in Lilongwe City.
The development comes at a time Malawi’s installed electricity generation capacity stands at approximately 564 megawatts (mw), which remains inadequate to meet the country’s growing electricity demand.
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“Despite the progress made in expanding generation capacity, electricity supply remains inadequate to meet the country’s growing demand.
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“We must, therefore, explore innovative and complementary approaches to increase electricity generation and improve access to reliable power,” Mathanga said.
Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority Chief Executive Officer Dad Chinthambi said the new rules provide a regulatory framework through which consumers can participate in electricity generation while ensuring safety and reliability of the national grid.
“Net metering offers households, businesses and other eligible consumers an opportunity to generate electricity for their own use and export surplus electricity to the national grid in accordance with the rules,” Chinthambi said.
Under the arrangement, participating consumers will require bidirectional meters capable of recording electricity supplied to the national grid and electricity drawn from it.
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The launch comes as Malawi continues to grapple with electricity supply challenges, which have affected households, businesses and industrial operations.
The net-Metering Rules are expected to provide an additional source of electricity generation while creating opportunities for consumers to reduce their electricity costs through renewable energy investments.
