Malawians Face Endless Darkness As Power Crisis Deepens

24 May 2026

Nyasa Times (Leeds)

For many Malawians, electricity has become a privilege that appears without warning and disappears without apology.

In homes, children struggle to study for examinations under candlelight. In barber shops and small restaurants, business owners spend long hours staring at silent machines and empty customers' chairs. In hospitals, offices and factories, productivity slows each time the lights go out.

And now, the country has been told the painful truth: the blackouts are far from over.

Officials from the Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) on Friday admitted before the Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances and Public Reforms that Malawi is producing far less electricity than the country needs, leaving the national grid under severe strain.

Led by Director of Planning Jeddie Luka and Company Secretary Videlia Mluwira, the officials painted a grim picture of a power system battling equipment breakdowns, fuel shortages, obsolete infrastructure and rapidly rising demand.

At the centre of the crisis are breakdowns at Nkula B and Kapichira II hydropower stations, which together have removed 52 megawatts (MW) from the national grid. The situation has been worsened by foreign exchange shortages that have crippled Egenco's ability to buy spare parts for damaged equipment.

Out of 27 diesel-powered generators meant to cushion the country during power shortages, only 18 are currently working. The remaining nine have been grounded because spare parts cannot be procured in time, with some purchases delayed by procurement procedures and Anti-Corruption Bureau clearance requirements.

Fuel shortages have further paralysed electricity generation. Egenco says rationing has affected heavy-duty generators, leading to another 53 MW loss from the grid. Altogether, more than 100 MW is currently unavailable for national supply.

But while supply continues to shrink, demand for electricity is growing at a speed the country is failing to match.

Luka told lawmakers that under the Malawi Electricity Access Project (MEAP), around 180,000 new customers were connected to the national grid without any significant increase in electricity generation. He warned that a planned Escom project to connect another 250,000 customers could worsen blackouts unless government urgently invests in generation capacity.

"The demand is increasing very fast while generation remains low," Luka said.

The consequences are already being felt across the country.

Small-scale businesses that depend on refrigeration, welding machines, internet services and electrical equipment are losing income daily. Families are spending more money on candles, charcoal and fuel for generators. Students preparing for national examinations are forced to revise in darkness.

Even those who own generators are struggling because diesel itself has become difficult to access.

Egenco spokesperson Moses Gwaza said the company hopes the situation may slightly improve in June when a new solar plant in Salima starts supplying 10 MW to the national grid. However, he admitted that forex shortages delayed payments to the contractor responsible for commissioning the project.

"We are also having challenges with fuel. We cannot run some of the diesel engines. So we are engaging Nocma, Puma and other suppliers to prioritise us in terms of fuel supplies," Gwaza explained.

Luka added that while solar energy offers hope, it cannot yet fully support heavy industrial operations that require stable and continuous electricity.

Meanwhile, rehabilitation works at Kapichira Dam -- heavily damaged by Cyclone Freddy in 2022 -- remain stalled by a $50 million (about K86 billion) funding gap. Government is still searching for financial support to complete the repairs.

Parliamentary Committee chairperson Sam Kawale said the country must move beyond talking and urgently increase power generation if Malawi is to escape the cycle of blackouts.

"The major thing is increase in generation. At the moment, we are not generating enough to meet current demand," Kawale said.

Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) executive director John Kapito accused authorities of failing consumers for years despite countless complaints over unreliable electricity.

"Consumers have complained for ages and nothing has happened," Kapito said, warning that prolonged blackouts are crippling industries, destroying small businesses and undermining Malawi's development ambitions under Malawi 2063.

Energy expert Sugzo Kaunda from the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences said the country's electricity crisis is no longer temporary but structural, caused by failure to implement long-planned energy investments.

"We have a serious problem of accessing power in the country, characterised by blackouts," Kaunda said.

In April, Escom announced an eight-month embedded power and battery storage programme aimed at stabilising the national grid -- effectively confirming that Malawians may have to endure many more months of darkness before any meaningful improvement arrives.

Currently, Egenco is supplying only 444 MW to the national grid -- 390 MW from hydro power, 53 MW from diesel generators and just 1.3 MW from solar energy.

For millions of Malawians sitting in darkness night after night, that reality is no longer just about electricity.

It is about lost income, interrupted education, collapsing businesses and a growing fear that the country's future is being dimmed together with the lights.

Read the original article on Nyasa Times.