* This follows loss of power supply that affected most parts of Limbe Central Business District (CBD) and surrounding areas of Blantyre City on Wednesday
* Which was caused by the unplanned collapse of two 11kV power lines due to the impact of unauthorised excavation works at a private construction site behind Limbe ESCOM offices
By Duncan Mlanjira
Building contractors, property developers and the general public is being asked to first consult Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) before initiating any construction or excavation works near its vital infrastructure.
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In a statement, ESCOM management emphasises that it is essential to strictly adhere to the Corporation’s recommendations and procedures before starting any works in order to safeguard the public, prevent infrastructure damage, and avoid unnecessary power supply disruptions.
This follows loss of power supply that affected most parts of Limbe Central Business District (CBD) and surrounding areas of Blantyre City on Wednesday, which was caused by the unplanned collapse of two 11kV power lines.
ESCOM reports that this power supply loss occurred due to the impact of unauthorised excavation works at a private construction site located behind Limbe ESCOM offices.
The culprit contractor of the construction site, whom ESCOM has not mentioned, is reported to have previously applied to ESCOM for the relocation of the 11kV power lines on August 28, 2025.
“A formal quotation detailing the cost of labour and materials was subsequently issued by ESCOM,” says the statement. “However, the contractor proceeded with deep excavation works before the relocation quotation was formally honoured and the work executed by ESCOM.
“This action compromised the stability of the immediate area, leading to the partial collapse of our perimeter fence and the resulting downfall of the high-voltage lines.”
Thus ESCOM had to incur more costs than necessary since its technical teams were mobilised in numbers to restore power supply to the affected areas by re-routing power through alternative lines.
The process to restore power through the high-voltage infrastructure also proved challenging as the technicians were significantly hampered by the prevailing rainy conditions, which slowed down works for safety reasons.
Thus tendency by land property developers to ignore ESCOM infrastructure is very common in most parts of the country as many households were built along existing power supply lines — with some hosting a whole transformer inside their fences.
This is done despite warnings from ESCOM that it poses a whole lot of safety risk to the household and its sorrounding neighbourhood and also denies ESCOM technicians access to the home in case of a fault and the owners are not home.
Some members of the public even build their houses along the Blantyre Lilongwe M1 Road inside road reserve boundary, completely ignoring the clearly marked RRB pillars as they anticipate to be compensated once some road rehabilitation shall commence and would facilitate demolishing their households.
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