Malawi’s state power utility ESCOM has unveiled a series of large-scale projects aimed at expanding electricity access and modernising the grid, backed by World Bank and regional financing. Currently, only around 15% of Malawians have access to power, among the lowest rates in sub-Saharan Africa.

At the centre is the Malawi Electricity Access Project (MEAP), funded by the World Bank, which targets 180,000 new connections by 2025. A follow-on programme, ASCENT, seeks to link a further 235,000 customers by 2030, with ESCOM projecting the national access rate could rise from 12% in 2020 to about 30% by the end of the decade. The African Development Bank (AfDB has cautioned that progress may be slower without accelerated investment.

“Our mission is to connect more Malawians to reliable, affordable electricity and to build a resilient grid that supports national development,” said ESCOM chief executive Kammwamba Kumwenda, as quoted by local online outlet the Nyasa Times.

He said the government’s priority is to deliver flagship projects such as MEAP, ASCENT and the $154mn Mozambique–Malawi 400kV Interconnection Project (MOMA) on schedule.

MOMA, financed by the World Bank, the EU, Germany’s KfW,and other partners, is due to be completed in December 2025. It will give Malawi its first direct link to the Southern African Power Pool (SAAP) by connecting Malawi’s grid at Phombeya to Mozambique’s network at Matambo.

Mozambique’s power utility, Electricidade De Moçambique (EDM), expects construction on MOMA to be completed by September 30. Once operational, it will allow Malawi to import cheaper electricity from Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa hydropower station and trade power regionally.

Similar schemes with Zambia and Tanzania are at feasibility stage, designed to improve supply security and open opportunities for regional trade.

To strengthen domestic transmission, ESCOM is also developing a 132kV “Eastern Backbone” line and piloting concrete poles to replace wooden ones. It is further introducing a utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) to stabilise the grid and integrate more solar and wind power, which the power utility says could benefit more than 600,000 households and industries.

Malawi’s energy sector relies heavily on hydropower, generating around 500 megawatts (MW), half of the estimated needed to meet demand,

Regionally, Malawi’s challenges mirror those across the SADC (Southern African Development Community) bloc, said Elijah Sichone, former head of the Regional Energy Regulators Association of Southern Africa, who notes an overall regional deficit of 8,444 MW owing to limited interconnectivity. “Countries like Angola and Tanzania have excess power but aren’t interconnected,” said Sichone, as quoted by private broadcaster Zodiak Malawi.