ESCOM tariffs raised by 54%

Escom will, however, not have the way cleared for it following
regulatory requirements that there be public hearings before any rises
come into being. 

This has prompted the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) -a body
established to regulate the energy industry- to begin public
consultations which started in Blantyre on Monday, will go to Lilongwe
Wednesday and the northern Malawi region of Mzuzu Friday.

Mera executive director, Charles Kafumba, said it was now mandatory
that there be consultations before any possible adjustments in tariffs
for service providers, and that the consultations marked the beginning
of any such work in the country.

Consumers Association of Malawi Director, John Kapito, described the
attempts to raise tariffs by 54.1 per cent as day right robbery, saying
Escom had failed in its duty to generate and supply electricity
satisfactorily. 

He said it was time Escom left the hydro-power activity to other players.

"Escom has failed us," he said, citing persistent blackouts and poor service delivery.

But Escom Marketing Manager, Wiseman Kabwazi, appealed for caution,
saying the 54.1 per cent rise will not be effected within "two months
but three years", drawing criticism from Kapito, who warned Escom
officials against behaving as if the possible rise was a foregone
conclusion.

Only 6 per cent of Malawians has electricity, a development that
prompts the remaining 94 per cent of citizens ‘of the dark’ to engage
in vandalism activities, as whatever happens to the national grid
impacts very little on them. 

Programmes like the Rural Electrification Programme are, however, filling such gaps.