Africa-Press – Malawi. The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) has unveiled a portfolio of transformative projects aimed at connecting more Malawians to electricity and modernizing the national power network. With support from international partners, ESCOM says these initiatives will not only expand access but also improve reliability and efficiency across the country.
At the heart of the drive is the Malawi Electricity Access Project (MEAP), financed by the World Bank, which targets connecting 180,000 new customers by 2025. This project alone is expected to raise Malawi’s national electricity access rate from just 12 percent in 2020 to around 30 percent by 2030. Building on MEAP’s progress, ESCOM has launched ASCENT (MEAP 2), a five-year program to connect an additional 235,000 customers by 2030, marking a significant leap in household and business electrification.
Cross-border interconnection projects are also in motion to strengthen supply. The Mozambique-Malawi 400KV Interconnection (MOMA), scheduled for completion in December 2025, will establish a regional power trading link, while the Malawi-Zambia (MAZA) and Tanzania-Malawi (TAMA) interconnectors are advancing through feasibility stages. These will allow Malawi to tap into the Southern African Power Pool, boosting supply security and opening opportunities for regional energy trade.
To support growing demand, ESCOM is also undertaking the 132KV Eastern Backbone Project, which will upgrade transmission infrastructure from the Central to Northern Region, and piloting the use of concrete poles to replace traditional wooden ones for greater durability.
In addition, the corporation is integrating renewable energy solutions through the Utility Scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), designed to stabilize the grid and enable the inclusion of more solar and wind power. The project is projected to benefit over 600,000 households and industries by ensuring steady supply even when renewable output fluctuates.
For urban and peri-urban areas, ESCOM has lined up the Peri-Urban Power Distribution Network Project, targeting upgrades in Zomba, Blantyre, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu, while the Malawi Emergency Power Restoration Project is focused on reinforcing infrastructure in flood-prone areas.
ESCOM’s CEO Kammwamba Kumwenda said the corporation’s priority is to ensure that ongoing high-impact projects like MOMA, MEAP, and ASCENT are delivered on time, stressing that access to electricity is central to Malawi’s social and economic growth.
“Our mission is clear: to connect more Malawians to reliable, affordable electricity and to build a resilient grid that supports development across the country,” he said.
With more than a dozen projects at various stages of completion, ESCOM is positioning itself as a key driver of Malawi’s goal to achieve universal energy access in the coming decades.
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