Egenco laments aged generation equipment

Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) has highlighted aged power generation machinery, some of which has outlived its lifespan as one factor frustrating electricity production in the country.

Egenco public relations manager Moses Gwaza, speaking in Blantyre on Friday during an Industrial Engineering Awareness Workshop organised by Society of Industrial Engineering (SIE), said the company’s engineers work round the clock to repair and maintain the ageing equipment to keep the country’s power generation facilities operational.

One of the oldest stations, Nkula A. | Nation

He said some electricity consumers focus on Egenco’s challenges without appreciating the condition of the equipment the company’s engineers have to operate and maintain.

“I think those who have ever been at our power stations would appreciate the kind of work and pressure our engineers always have because of the state of our equipment, which are old,” said Gwaza.

But he cited Kapichira I Power Station where the African Development Bank is supporting rehabilitation and modernisation works, including the installation of new equipment.

“We have various projects that we want to modernise the equipment because some of them are very old and have outlived their lives. So we want to put new equipment and also ensure that Nkula B is given new life,” he said.

In his remarks, SIE acting president Leonard Jere called on industries to collaborate with the society, saying industrial engineers can help businesses address operational and production challenges.

He said industrialisation which is the second pillar of Malawi 2063 requires industries to embrace automation and continuous improvement to meet the needs of a growing population.

In an interview, Engineer Cornelius Mpesi, who was the guest of honour, also urged industries to work with the society, saying there is limited understanding of the role and contribution of industrial engineers.

Malawi has total installed capacity of 564.2 megawatts (MW), comprising 401.8MW from hydro, 51.4MW from diesel and 111MW from solar as produced by Egenco and other players, according to Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi data.

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