MW parliament shoots down EGENCO's proposal to raise electricity tariffs by 36%

Malawi: The Joint Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change, Legal Affairs, Public Accounts (PAC), and Trade and Industry has objected to EGENCO's proposal to raise tariffs by 36%, claiming that Malawians are already suffering and that this will exacerbate their plight.

The committee summoned EGENCO to discuss issues of the Electricity Amendment Act, Single Buyer System and Tariff Adjustment on 22nd August 2022 at Parliament building in Lilongwe.

EGENCO stated before the Committee that they have proposed a 36% tariff increase, which they have already submitted to MERA via PML.

Werani Chilenga, the committee's co-chair, stated that the committee is requesting EGENCO to reverse the decision and implement it later when things pick up in this country.

"We are not comfortable with a 36% tariff increase as a committee. Malawians are facing difficulties. So we have requested EGENCO, and we will make the same request to ESCOM, PML, and anyone else involved in energy issues, including MERA, that as a joint committee, we are pleading with them, requesting that they reverse this decision and implement it later when things pick up in this country,” he elaborated.

Mervin Mchenga, EGENCO's Assistant Public Relations Officer, stated in his remarks that the company is moving toward a cost-reflective tariff to reflect the cost of reproduction.

"We are moving toward a cost-reflective tariff that will reflect the cost of reproduction, allowing us to invest in power generation while also providing reliable and sufficient power. So we have heard the committee's request, and we promise to respond as soon as possible,” he stated.

Chilenga said that the committee was dissatisfied with the responses given to them regarding the recent National blackouts. However, EGENCO is expected to provide a comprehensive response within 7 days.

"We have agreed with them that they will provide a comprehensive response within 7 days. So we'll have to wait until Tuesday next week. However, we anticipate that the answer will be one that solves problems rather than understanding them,” Chilenga stated.

However, EGENCO stated that the major issue that has been affecting them is the outage at Kapichira caused by Cyclone Ana, and that they expect Kapichira power station to be restored by December 23rd, 2022.