Malawi’s power lifeline to Mozambique finally switched on — but consumers warned tariffs must be “cost-reflective”

Construction of the long-awaited Mozambique-Malawi (MOMA) 400kV Electricity Interconnector has finally been completed, with tariff negotiations now underway before commercial power trading can begin between the two nations.

Thodi: Major step

The Ministry of Energy confirmed the milestone in a statement issued Monday and signed by Secretary for Energy Elvis Thodi, hailing the interconnector’s completion as a major step forward in Malawi’s efforts to access additional power sources and plug into the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) via Mozambique.

“The line was successfully hot-commissioned and energized on August 8, 2026, marking a key step toward operationalising the MOMA interconnector. Then, 5 megawatts (MW) of electricity were imported from Mozambique to test and commission commercial metering equipment at the Matambo Substation,” Thodi said.

He revealed that construction on the Malawian side of the project had actually been completed on schedule back in February 2025, but full commissioning was held up by delays on the Mozambican side, after work there was suspended following a fatal workplace accident.

“The suspension allowed safety and safeguard measures to be thoroughly reviewed and strengthened before construction resumed,” Thodi explained.

He said the Ministry, working alongside the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), Power Market Limited (PML) and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), is now racing to finalise tariff arrangements and other commercial details needed to get power flowing.

“These tariff discussions and agreements are necessary to ensure that electricity imports through the interconnector are safe, reliable, sustainable, and commercially viable,” he said.

But consumer watchdogs are already sounding a note of caution. Consumer Association of Malawi (CAMA) Executive Director John Kapito insisted that any tariff set for electricity imported from Mozambique must be grounded in genuine cost, not plucked out of thin air.

“Tariffs are based on several inputs and determined by reflective costs. One cannot set a tariff arbitrarily without considering the fundamental factors that constitute a fair price,” Kapito warned.