4: Energy Generation & Supply
Generate sufficient amount of energy to meet the economic and social demands. Other Information:
Energy is a crucial input into any industrial processing and serves as the life-blood for any economy. Malawi is relatively
well endowed with a wide variety of energy resources but a full potential of the energy sub-sector remains far from being
realized owing to a number of structural, operational and institutional challenges. The provision of energy in Malawi is inadequate,
unreliable and inaccessible to all who need it. This is mainly due to lack of competition in the sector; siltation resulting
from deforestation; poor farming practices and management; weeds and water hyacinth on the Shire River which affects hydro-generation;
expensive spare parts which inhibit maintenance of equipment leading to frequent breakdowns; and lack of progress on regional
interconnection and commitment to tap into other energy sources. In addition to these challenges is the limitation of public
investment in power generation and widespread vandalism of equipment. A well-developed energy sub-sector can enhance stable
supply of power, increased generation and transmission capacity for improved service delivery and increased output in the
economic and social sectors, respectively. Increased generation and transmission capacity of electricity will support other
programmes such as Malawi Rural Electrification Project (MAREP). The sub-sector also has strong backward and forward linkages
with other sub-sectors, for instance, use of power transmission lines would also increase capacity for telecommunications.
The objective of the MGDS is to reduce the number and duration of blackouts, increase access to reliable, affordable electricity
in rural areas and other targeted areas, improve coordination and the balance between the needs for energy and those of other
high growth sectors such as tourism and mining.
Objective(s):
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