High Court rules Power Market Limited to resume its operations

* The PML voluntary winding up, made under the Insolvency Act of 2016, reverted its functions to Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) in the generation and distribution of power

By Duncan Mlanjira

Power Market Limited (PML), which was created as part of the power market restructuring process to perform a single buyer function in the electricity industry —but was dissolved in January 2023 — will resume its operations following a High Court ruling made yesterday, April 10, 2026.

The PML voluntary winding up, made under the Insolvency Act of 2016, reverted its functions to Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) in the generation and distribution of power.

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.

The formation of PML followed the unbundling of ESCOM that led to the establishment of Energy Generation Company (EGENCO) Ltd, but in 2020, ESCOM Staff Union (ESU) petitioned-the-government-alleging-that-the-company-was-illegally-set-up.

They argued that it contravened Section 4 (2) of the amended Electricity Act (2016), that says: ‘A holder of a transmission licence before commencement of this Act, shall hold simultaneously licences for distribution, imports, exports, system and market operator and single buyer’.

The Union was of the strong view that the first unbundling process, that involved delinking power generation from ESCOM and setting up EGENCO, resulted into a financially weaker ESCOM and increased in electricity tariff for the customer.

And with the further unbundling of ESCOM’s Single Buyer Function, the Union argued that PML was set to increase overhead costs in the power sector and further increase the cost of supplying power to the customer.