Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi

Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited (ESCOM) is the state-owned power transmission and distribution company in Malawi. It is entirely in control of transmission and distribution of electric power in the country. ESCOM represents Malawi in the Southern African Power Pool. It is not to be confused with its South African equivalent Eskom.[1]

Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited (ESCOM)
Parastatal
IndustryElectricity
Founded1984 (1984)
HeadquartersBlantyre, Malawi
Key people
Allexon Chiwaya
Chief Executive Officer
ParentGovernment of Malawi
Websitewww.escom.mw

Location

The headquarters of the company are located in ESCOM House, along Haile Selassie Avenue, in the central business district of Blantyre, the commercial and financial capital of Malawi. The ESCOM House sits directly across the street from Shifa Hospital. The geographical coordinates of the company headquarters are:15°47'16.0"S, 35°00'38.0"E (Latitude:-15.787778; Longitude:35.010556).[2]

Unbundling

When initially created in the 1980s, ESCOM monopolised the functions of (a) generation (b)transmission and (c) distribution of electric power throughout Malawi. In 2015, the government of Malawi began planning the unbundling of the company to allow private investors to enter the Malawian market.[3]

Escom is saddled with low tariffs and payment arrears. The company is heavily indebted and is loss-making. It lacks creditworthiness and is unable to attract private investment into the electricity sector, because power-purchase agreements with Escom are not financially viable. It is unable to upgrade infrastructure and increase generation capacity.[3]

In January 2017, Escom was split into two companies. Electricity Generation Company Malawi Limited (Egenco) is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and improvement of the power stations owned by the Malawian government. At that time the power stations had generation capacity of 351 megawatts. Escom retained the role of bulk-purchaser, transmission and distribution to the consumer. Escom is also the sole seller to foreign customers.[4]

Governance

Thomson Mpinganjira serves as the chairman of the ten-person board of directors.[5] Allexon Chiwaya is the chief executive officer. He leads a team of eight senior managers in running the day-to-day affairs of the company.[6]

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See also

References
  1. Escom (12 May 2020). "Escom: Company Information". Blantyre: Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited (Escom). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  2. Google (12 May 2020). "Location of the Headquarters of Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  3. The Economist (28 July 2015). "Escom To Be Restructured". London: Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. Tom Sangala (5 January 2017). "Escom Unbundled". Blantyre: The Times Group. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  5. Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi (12 May 2020). "The Current ESCOM Board Members". Blantyre: Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  6. Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi (12 May 2020). "The Current Executive Management Of Escom". Blantyre: Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi. Retrieved 12 May 2020.

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