* It will increase electricity tariffs, which was one of the reasons it was resolved for its functions to remain within ESCOM
* In 2023, electricity tariffs were proposed for a 99% tariff increase of which about 30% was attributed to administrative costs for Power Market Ltd
By Duncan Mlanjira
Consumer Association of Malawi (CAMA) contends that the re-instatement of Power Market Limited (PML) — which the High Court determined it should resume its operations on April 10, 2026 — “will have serious negative economic implications for consumers due to increased electricity tariffs”.
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In a statement issued by CAMA Executive Director, John Kapito, maintains that PML was discontinued in 2023, whose “major reasons was its adverse impact on consumer welfare”.
“In 2023 electricity tariffs were proposed for a 99% tariff increase of which about 30% was attributed to administrative costs for PML, an institution that has not demonstrated any added value to consumers.
“Access to electricity in Malawi remains among the lowest in the region with only 11%-15% of the population having access. One of the major contributing factor for lack of access is the high cost of electricity coupled with persistent blackouts.
“To minimise these high tariffs, it was previously resolved that the functions of PML should remain within Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) until such a time when the power market develops significantly particularly with the growth of independent power producers that would justify the need for a fully independent institution.
“Consumers are already struggling to afford the current electricity tariffs which are among the highest in Africa — the re-establishment of PML would worsen a scenario for consumers.”
Thus CAMA asks the Government that it “should instead focus on strengthening ESCOM to improve operational efficiency while protecting consumers from unnecessary electricity tariff increases”.
PML’s formation followed broader government reforms initiated in 2003 — with support from the US Millennium Challenge worth US$350 million and was incorporated on June 25, 2018.
It was granted a single buyer licence by Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) in December 2020 but in 2023, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP)-led administration initiated its voluntary insolvency — made under the Insolvency Act of 2016, reverted its functions to ESCOM in the generation and distribution of power.
After the High Court ruling on April 10, some economic analysts argued that PML was dissolved as it was deemed not necessary and a burden to electricity pricing — and its re-instatement was suspected as a move to create political employment opportunities for the company’s top hierarchy.
One analyst suggested that since the country’s power generation capacity has never really grown over the past 40 years, perhaps the attention should focus on increasing power generation capacity to over 1,000 megawatts before coming with additional structures in the power sector.
“Otherwise, PML and such like structures, add no value to the sector — they are just an additional tax to the power consumer,” said the analyst, a suggestion that was in agreement with another observer, who added that “if our problem is power generation, we could have improved it through same ESCOM”.
“How much have we wasted running ESCOM, EGENCO and PML? Is that not enough to reinvest in generation? Is unbundling good because it was suggested by donors to us? They did this strategically to promote power interconnector project.”
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