* Expected to be completed by end of this October when the unit is scheduled to return to service
* The Unit has remained on forced outage to facilitate the replacement of worn-out thrust bearing pads and corrective maintenance on the turbine assembly
By Duncan Mlanjira
Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) has finally secured the critical shaft Nkula B Hydropower Station’s Unit 6 — which it sent to the original equipment manufacturer’s workshop in South Africa for repairs in August — to restore its 20-megawatt (MW).
The Unit has been offline for five weeks following its breakdown and EGENCO reports on its official Facebook account that it has commenced maintenance works on the affected unit
It is expected to be completed by end of October 2026: “The Unit has remained on forced outage to facilitate the replacement of worn-out thrust bearing pads and corrective maintenance on the turbine assembly,” says the notice.
There has been massive load shedding ever since Nkula B Unit 6 went offline. In August, EGENCO issued a public notice on the status of power generation and measures being implemented to address the existing challenges.
It indicated that as of August 22, all its hydropower generation units were operational, except for Nkula B’s Unit 6, which developed a fault on August 6.
It indicated that Nkula A Power Station was generating 24MW instead of its installed capacity of 35.1MW due to worn out turbine shaft seals.
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Tedzani Units 5 & 6 were operating at a combined reduced capacity of 5MW due to debris and stones accumulating at the intake following the impact of Cyclone Ana in 2022.
Kapichira Power Station Unit 3 was generating 6MW below its installed capacity following the failure of its original transformer in May 2925 and was temporarily installed with a low rated transformer.
EGENCO further indicated that most of these challenges arose due to delays in the procurement of critical spare parts over the past two to three years due to forex constraints.
On the measures being undertaken to restore full generation capacity included dismantling and transporting the damaged Nkula B Unit 6’s shaft and transporting it to South Africa for the repairs, which has returned as scheduled — the first week of October.
EGENCO also announced that the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) allocated forex for the purchase of spares for Nkula A’s Units 1, 2 & 3, which were being shipped to and was expected anytime soon.
Tedzani also has challenges through Units 5 & 6 and EGENCO engaged a contractor to remove debris and stones from the intake area, who was mobilising specialised equipment. The Units are expected to be operational by December 2026.
On Kapichira Unit 3, EGENCO indicated that it was in the process of acquiring a new transformer to arrive by October 2027 and restore full generation capacity by December 2027.
The hydro power stations, Nkula (top), Tedzani (centre) and Kapichira
“Important to note is that generator transformers are procured under ‘make-to-order’ basis and takes over 12 months to manufacture,” said EGENCO in the notice.
It also announced that procurement of spare parts for diesel generators were in progress to have them operational by December 2026.
“While addressing the current challenges, EGENCO remains committed to expanding Malawi’s electricity generation capacity to meet growing demand.
“We are pleased to announce that the government has reassigned 300MW Kam’mwamba Coal-fired Power Project to EGENCO.
“The company has already acquired land for the project, completed feasibility studies, and commenced procurement processes before the project was reassigned three years ago.
“EGENCO will now move swiftly to advance its implementation. In the short to to medium term, EGENCO will also accelerate the development of Wovwe II Hydropower Project (4.5MW) and Phase II of the Salima Solar Power Plant (40MW).”
EGENCO’s Salima Nanjoka Solar Power Plant
EGENCO thus assured the nation that it is actively addressing the challenges “with urgency and determination” and that the experts are “working diligently to restore affected generation units and strengthen the reliability of the Malawi power supply”.
The government has allocated almost US$8.1 million for acquisition of spare parts, which has since been paid to suppliers, said EGENCO in that public notice.
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