Escom needs $30 million for infrastructure upgrade

State-run Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi has said it needs $30 million to restore damaged infrastructure and put up a more resilient system. He said the firm anticipates that donations from the World Bank and other multilateral donors will cover the cost. “Where people live, we need to compensate the people; so, we will work together with the Ministry…

State-run Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has said it needs $30 million (about K30 billion) to restore damaged infrastructure and put up a more resilient system.

In an interview on Thursday, Escom Chief Executive Officer Kamkwamba Kumwenda said the utility body is restoring infrastructure which was partially damaged due to Cyclone Freddy.

But the entity is facing challenges to reach some parts of Mulanje and Phalombe districts and the Shire Valley.

He said the firm anticipates that donations from the World Bank and other multilateral donors will cover the cost.

“We haven’t done a proper assessment in areas where roads have been washed away. The problem is that the damage is so extensive that we have to re-design the route, in some cases we have to change the designs and, in doing so, we need to have new way leaves where the lines pass.

“Where people live, we need to compensate the people; so, we will work together with the Ministry of Lands because some of the places where our lines were passing are now rivers but for areas where the land is there and the poles were just down, we are almost done,” he said.

Kumwenda said Escom needs to hire engineers to re-design the whole system to ensure resilience and sustainability.

He said the task might take a maximum of six months and a minimum of three months.

Kumwenda added that Escom has since approached development partners who have asked for proper reports of the damage and the recovery plan.

“The donors have asked us to make budgets and submit to them reports on where we need help but these things take time to get approvals.

“The World Bank, for example, has its own standards but we will make sure, as Escom, that we do things as quickly as possible. We have made those submissions to the Ministry of Finance and, as soon as we get the funds, we start work on the ground,” Kumwenda added.

Mzuzu University-based energy expert Chrispin Gogoda said the damage was extensive, hence the need for more resources for restoration.

“It is not surprising that Escom is looking for such an amount of funds because the damage was really extensive and, from what we experienced with the previous cyclones, we know the devastation towards the power sector.

“However, we should have a certain amount from the fuel level that could have been going towards such works and the donors could come in to help on top of what we are already doing; otherwise, it may take really long to recover from this,” Gogoda said.

The cyclone damaged power lines, roads and farmlands and livestock in about 10 districts of the Southern Region.

The already volatile power supply has been intermittent thenceforth, while most roads have become impassable, putting gains the country was recording in the past months in tatters.