Tedzani hydro plant
* Austrian company’s engineers are expected to arrive in the country after mobilising materials to repair Tedzani III Unit 5 (31MW), has been offline since December 2024 due to burnt generator stator windings
* Nkula B Unit 5 (20MW) failed to start upon restoration after replacement of turbine shaft seal which commenced on Friday, October 31 and completed last evening
By Duncan Mlanjira
Energy Generation Company (EGENCO) says it is experiencing some challenges in hydro power generation due to technical faults affecting some of the machines — thus 51 megawatts (MW) of hydro power is off the national grid.
Advertisement
In a statement issued EGENCO indicates that as of today, November 4, the available generation capacity stands at 347.35MW and that two major units are currently out of service.
These are Tedzani III Unit 5 (31MW) and Nkula B Unit 5 (20MW). EGENCO says the Tedzani III unit has been offline since December 2024 due to burnt generator stator windings, adding that they have finalised a contract with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of Austria to repair the machine.
“The OEM is mobilising materials and their engineers are expected to arrive in Malawi later this month of November to carry out the repairs.”
On Nkula B, EGENCO indicates that Unit 5 “failed to start upon restoration after replacement of turbine shaft seal which commenced on Friday, October 31 and completed last evening”.
“Our engineering team is working diligently to restore this unit,” says the EGENCO management, adding that they are also facing challenges on diesel generators — “which supplement power generation capacity in times of high demand or insufficient hydro generation capacity — have been affected by scarcity of diesel fuel”.
The management say they are “fully committed to restoring these units as quickly as possible and minimising the impact on power supply.
Two weeks ago, EGENCO announced that its Solar Power Plant at Nanjoka in Salima, which Chint Electric Co. Ltd started constructing in July 2024 is on course as part of the company’s plans to diverse sources of energy in order to increase power onto the national grid.
Salima solar power plant
This was assured when EGENCO Chief Executive Officer, Eng. Maxon Chitawo led a delegation of the media to the construction site, emphasising that the three hydro power generation — Nkula, Kapichira and Tedzani in the Lower Shire — come along with some risks that require intensive maintenance, which lead to load shedding since the plants need to be shutdown for repairs.
Thus the Salima Solar Power Plant as an alternative, which is in phases of 10 megawatts (MW) for 1st phase; 10MW for 2nd phase and 30MW for the 3rd, making a total of 50MW.
The facility — which is on a 110 hectares of land to accommodate the over 22,000 solar panels — also have a robust battery power storage, which will be used even when sunlight is not available.
Five of EGENCO’s engineers have been on site right from the start of construction to be equipped on how the plant can be maintained.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, in his official opening of the 52nd Session of Parliament in Lilongwe on Friday, October 31, President Arthur Peter Mutharika pledged that his administration will scale up Nanjoka Solar Power Plant by 2026 to be fully installed to 50MW.
He took great note that economy cannot grow if power generation continues to be a challenge — thus he will increase power generation from multiple sources including hydro, solar, interconnectivity and biomass; while fast tracking construction of the 358.5 megawatt (MW) Mpatamanga Hydropower Project in 2026.
Another energy diversification that is under EGENCO’s plans is the 300MW coal-fired power plant at Kammwamba, Zalewa in Neno district, which the company describes as a game-changer in the country’s energy sector and economy.
* Weather update
