The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has secured a $150 million (about K123 billion) loan from the World Bank, as the parastatal says the funds will be allocated towards boosting the distribution network to connect more Malawians to the national grid.

Last Friday during a news conference, the Escom acting chief executive officer Clement Kanyama  said the  concessional loan will enable the power utility to implement the Malawi Electricity Access Project (Meap) from March this year. “The loan’s last withdrawal date is June 30 2024 and the aim of the financing is to fast-track connecting Malawians to the grid. The processes are underway and the needed equipment is arriving in the country.” said Kanyama.

On the other hand, Minister of Information Gospel Kazako outlined that the government is working hard to increase access for both household and industrial use. “We are not happy as a government with the current state of electricity production which is quite low. We cannot attract serious investors with current electricity supply because energy is key for private sector investment,”