MALAWI
POWER AFRICA FACT SHEET

Power Africa has supported the development of electricity generation projects in Malawi. In addition, various firms have received U.S. Embassy support to move transactions forward. The page below shows Power Africa's involvement and lists Power Africa’s financially closed transactions in the country, some of which are already online and generating critical electricity supply for the people of Malawi.

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Martha Murotho works as an engineer at EGENCO's Nkula Power Station in Malawi.
Martha Murotho works as an engineer at EGENCO's Nkula Power Station in Malawi.

POWER AFRICA SUCCESS STORIES IN MALAWI

From Water to Wire in the Warm Heart of Africa: Malawi’s Mpatamanga Hydropower Project

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A broken bridge over the Shire River in Malawi
An aerial view of a bridge connecting two districts of Blantyre that was destroyed by cyclone Idai in 2019. It will be reconstructed as part of the Mpatamanga project.
Power Africa

The Mpatamanga Hydropower Project has been the Government of Malawi’s top energy generation priority for many years. Power Africa is proud to be providing transaction advisory support to the Government as it has been co-developing this transformative project through an innovative public private partnership with the International Finance Corporation, and the competitively sourced sponsor consortium of EDF and Scatec. Our team traveled to Blantyre, Malawi, to explore the exciting progress of the project—an initiative that will significantly boost energy generation in one of the world’s most energy-deprived countries, all while being innovative, sustainable, and environmentally conscious.

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Championing Change: 7 Ways Men Can Advance Gender Equality at Work

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William Liabunya, EGENCO CEO
“I’ve seen so much growth on gender equality within EGENCO thanks to the support of Power Africa’s initiatives. I’m very thankful that we can collaborate with Power Africa in our walk to becoming an engendering utility,” William Liabunya, EGENCO CEO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Power Africa 7 ways men can champion gender equality infographic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Electricity Generation Company in Malawi (EGENCO) and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) are two energy utilities at the forefront of gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa. Male engagement is key to their success, and in 2022 they bolstered their commitment through a Power Africa-led training for men in leadership positions.

READ more on our blog

CLICK to enlarge + download infographic

 

Mapping Market Expansion for Off-Grid Companies in Southern Africa

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An African seamstress working under a bring light
With solar-powered light, a seamstress can continue working after dark and increase her income.
ENGIE Energy Access Mozambique

Power Africa's publicly available route-to-market (RTM) tools provide geospatial data and techniques to map population density, electrification, telecoms, and road infrastructure to help solar home system (SHS) companies prioritize geographic markets for increased sales and greater energy access in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia.

 

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Building Malawi’s First Utility-Scale Solar-Plus-Storage Power Project

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A crane lifting a container at the construction site of the Golomoti Solar Plant
The 5 MW BESS will enable the 20 MW Golomoti solar plant to provide reliable power and promote network stability without relying on hydropower or diesel generation.
JCM Power
The 20 megawatt (MW) Golomoti Solar Project in Malawi is the first of its scale in Southern Africa to include a battery energy storage system, which will enable the plant to provide reliable, renewable electricity and strengthen the national power grid. READ MORE on our blog

 

Living without electricity is the reality of approximately 85 percent of Malawian households. To accelerate access to electricity and unlock the potential of the off-grid sector, Power Africa is providing financial assistance and operational support to private sector solar home system (SHS) companies in Malawi to help them scale operations and product sales, and increase household connections to electricity.

Watch this three-and-a-half minute video to learn more about the interventions Power Africa is implementing in Malawi and hear about the impact our work has made through the voices of SHS companies and one of their customers. 

Read more about Power Africa's impact in Malawi on our blog.

Performance Management Tweaks Boost Power Generation in Malawi

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Mapanga Plant Operator
A plant operator at ENGENCO's Mapanga diesel generating plant in Blantyre, Malawi
Power Africa
Building on the U.S. Government’s first Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact in Malawi, which focused on improving the availability and reliability of and access to electricity, Power Africa is now assisting Malawi’s Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) to improve commercial performance and increase electricity generation. As a result of a new performance system, EGENCO added 33 MW of generation capacity to its fleet in February 2020. READ MORE about our support to EGENCO on our blog
 
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Malawi SHS Kickstarter Program Launch
USAID/Power Africa awarded $2 million in grant funding to solar home system (SHS) companies under the Power Africa SHS Kick-Started Program for Malawi in 2019. Once of the winning companies was Zuwa Energy, represented in this photo by David Mkandawir, Enifa Mituka, and Jones Ntaukira.

POWER AFRICA FINANCIALLY CLOSED TRANSACTIONS IN MALAWI

October 21, 2019

Nkula A Rehabilitation (Hydro – 12 MW)

Financial Close Date: 09/29/2015
Commercial Operations Date: 09/01/2018
Estimated Project Cost: $45M
Overview: Through the Nkula A project, the Electricity Company Malawi Limited (EGENCO) rehabilitated, upgraded, and modernized the Nkula A Hydropower Plant. The plant’s original nameplate capacity of 36 MW was restored from previous operations at 24 MW prior to the rehabilitation. Power Africa partner, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), provided support through the Millennium Challenge Account-Malawi which awarded the contract for the rehabilitation, upgrade, and modernization of the power plant to Andritz Hydro (Austria) in a joint venture with Mota Engil (Portugal).

JCM Salina Solar (Solar 60 MW)

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Malawi highlighted in map of Africa