- ESCOM faces connection challenges
- The cost of connection is higher than the benefits
- Experts say energy subsidies are not working
The state-owned electricity utility Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) has stated that it has become financially unsustainable to add more connections to customers due to the difference in the cost of connecting new customers and the revenue accrued from such connections.
Senior Manager for Commercial and Customer Services Wiseman Kabwazi said the cost of connecting new customers is K282,000 while the customers pay K93, 200 for energy consumed.
“This scenario is contributing to delays in making new electricity in some areas as a result of the financial gaps. The reduction is for single-phase connections in which new customers pay for a standard connection fee, but ESCOM has to beef up the gap through tariffs,” Kabwazi said
Kabwazi also noted the inadequacy of the tariffs and how this is insufficient for the operations of ESCOM. “It is that financing gap that has been a major challenge for ESCOM to meet the financing requirements in the connection of a customer, and we need to work on it because it is huge for ESCOM to bear,” he said.
Grain Malunga, an energy expert, also stated that subsidy was not working, he said, “They should look at their operations as a business and not charity; therefore, whoever brought that subsidy should fund it–otherwise it should be removed from their operations,”
ESCOM has 45,196 outstanding connection applications from potential customers across the country.