Energy and poverty – two elements with a direct relationship, as studies show that access to electricity has a positive effect on poverty (International Energy Agency). It has the potential to increase efficiency, improve health, promote economic growth and boost competitiveness. The poor are least likely to have access to electricity, and the more they are disconnected or not connected to the grid, the more likely they will remain poor. It is a never ending cycle of overlooking the vital role connection to the electricity grid plays in enhancing people’s lives.
Extending days with access to lighting allows communities to have more time to study, work and play, advancing a country’s capabilities, productivity and effectiveness. Heating, refrigeration and modern cooking facilities are all enabled by electricity. Having access to electricity could mean saving time and energy to focus on productivity. Agriculture could receive a boost with modern farming technologies that save time, increase harvest and yield. Access to electricity also means an improved and reliable healthcare system for the wellbeing of the citizenry.
In 2013, it was estimated that approximately 17 percent of the world population (International Energy Agency) did not have access to electricity. Most people without access to electricity live in rural areas of the developing world, mainly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, electrification rate in urban areas is approximately 60 percent, whereas rural areas are only at 14 percent.
According to the World Bank data, Malawi – the landlocked country located in southern central Africa – provides less than 10 percent (The World Bank) of its population with access to electricity. With more than 70 percent of Malawians (United Nations) living below the income poverty lines of less than US$1.25 per day, the government through the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II is investing in key strategic areas to stimulate the country’s economy. Recognizing the importance of energy in economic development of the country, Government has put energy as one of the key priority areas.
In this respect, the Government of Malawi is working towards increasing generation capacity by rehabilitating the oldest power station, Nkula A, as well as expanding, upgrading and rehabilitating the country’s backbone transmission network and the transmission and distribution network for an efficient power system. The Government is also reforming the electricity supply industry in the country to create an enabling environment for private sector investment in generation and later in transmission and distribution.
One of the key strategic partners in improving Malawi’s Energy sector is the Unites States funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) which gave the Malawi Government a US$350.7 million grant for the Power Sector Revitalisation Program, managed and supervised by Millennium Challenge Account – Malawi (MCA-Malawi).
As a result, the Malawi Government through the MCA-Malawi engaged GE Grid Solutions business to design, supply and install the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) to assist engineers in real time remote monitoring, planning & optimization of ESCOM’s transmission systems spread over the country. This is will help to help create a modern and efficient power grid.
Malawi, the “warm heart of Africa”
Lying to the east of Zambia, west of Mozambique and south of Tanzania, Malawi is divided into three regions, Southern, Central and Northern, and has the third largest lake in Africa, Lake Malawi. Agriculture contributes more than a third of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and generates more than 90 percent (South African Development Community) of total export earnings. Often referred to as the ‘warm heart of Africa’, Malawi’s population of approximately 16 million is well known for their warmth and hospitality. With 90 percent (Africa Guide) of its people living in rural areas, about the same percentage lives with under US$2 per day. The United Nations ranked Malawi’s social and economic development at 173 out of 188 countries in its 2015 Human Development Index (United Nations), and according to the World Bank last year (Muheya, 2015), Malawi is the poorest country in the world. A country battling against the odds to develop with integrity, overcome the impact of HIV-Aids claiming tens of thousands of lives year after year, Malawi is trying to rise above the economic crisis of 2012 (Peter Mwanakatwe) while fighting the forces of nature, such as unexpected floods that have damaged the country’s infrastructure and crops – its main export earnings.
Most of the power generation plants in Malawi (Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited) are hydro-powered and located in the south along the Shire River – where close to 50 percent (Rural Poverty Portal) of the population reside, making it the most densely populated region – and approximately 40 percent live in the more fertile, lush lands in the central region near the capital city of Lilongwe. Yet today, more than 90 percent of Malawi’s population still do not have access to the electrical grid.
Recognizing this uphill battle, the Government of Malawi has launched several campaigns and programs to help Malawi embark on the journey out of poverty and into economic development. One of the organizations working to improve the country’s economic growth is the MCA-Malawi
MCA-Malawi
MCA-Malawi, a Government entity, was established in 2011 to implement, manage and supervise the US$350.7 Million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact for investment in the energy sector. MCA-Malawi’s purpose was to implement activities that will revitalize the power sector. This includes investments in three key areas: Infrastructure Development, Power Sector Reform and Environmental and Natural Resources Management.
Each project, with different roles to play, has underlying objective – to stimulate economic growth and play a part in reducing poverty in Malawi.
Infrastructure Development project (IDP)
This project aims to rehabilitate, upgrade and modernize priority Generation, Transmission and Distribution assets in Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited (ESCOM) system. The project is thus investing in rehabilitate, upgrade and modernize Malawi’s generation, transmission and distribution assets that are in most need of repair. This is done to maintain the existing generation and enhance the capability of Malawi’s transmission system while improving the efficiency and sustainability of hydropower generation.
Power Sector Reform project (PSRP)
Complementing the Infrastructure Development project, this project is supporting government, improving the financial and operational performance of ESCOM and strengthening the regulatory environment to support policy reform and investment. It looks into two activities – the turnaround of the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited (ESCOM) and Regulatory Strengthening. This sets the stage for the expansion of the power sector in the near future.
Environmental and Natural Resource Management project (ENRM)
This project focuses specifically on the Shire River Basin Catchment areas. The objective is to address the immediate problems of siltation and weed infestation limiting power generation by ESCOM through mechanical and biological means. It addresses the issues affecting the river, such as aquatic weed infestation and excessive sediments that could cause disruptions to the hydropower plant downstream. Through the ENRM project, the government seeks to improve land use and watershed management practices in the river by addressing underlying environmental and social issues.
Optimizing the grid
Improving the availability, reliability and quality of power supply is essential to ensuring the stability and efficiency of the grid. To do this, MCA-Malawi engaged GE to install and commission an Energy Management System (EMS) and telecommunication system at ESCOM.
The installation of the SCADA/EMS e-terra platform will allow ESCOM to monitor, plan and optimize its transmission systems nationwide in real time. With this system, ESCOM will be able to optimize Malawi’s power system and increase its efficiency in delivering much needed electrical power to Malawians. GE will also install remote terminal units at existing and new transmission substations in the central and southern region of Malawi, as well as upgrade ESCOM’s existing telecommunication system. GE’s team of experts will also provide the technical training to ensure that ESCOM is able to garner the best out of the installed system.
As the electricity market evolves, energy management plays a key role to ensure sufficient energy supply to meet energy demand. Today, operators have to take Distributed Energy Resources, Renewable Energy integration and Smart Grid transformations into consideration, while maintaining the current grid and preparing it for the future. Grid stabilization and modernization in Malawi is an important element to ensure more people gain access electricity – a key step to the eradication of poverty. The stability of the grid is also essential for future developments, such as grid interconnections, that could further cement the much needed availability of electricity.
Malawi’s electrical future – sharing the load
In preparing for Malawi’s future electricity grid, MCA-Malawi will construct a 173km 400kV overhead line (OVHL) from Phombeya in Balaka to Nkhoma, Lilongwe, and 129km 132kV OVHL Chinteche in Nkhata Bay to Bwengu, Mzimba. The substations at Phombeya, Nkhoma and Bwengu will be designed to accommodate the government’s future plans to interconnect Malawi’s grid to its three neighbouring countries, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Sharing the load would mean that Malawi will be able to both receive power when they need it and provide power when it has excess.
Grid interconnections can have a positive impact on electricity availability and could also lower the cost of electricity supply. In Europe for example, grid interconnections is a step towards sustainable energy by allowing countries to share clean energy, generated at potentially lower costs, with utilities potentially passing these savings to its customers.
Malawi’s energy sector is evolving. Plans have been laid out for bigger and better grid connections, coupling it with the right equipment to support the effective, efficient distribution and higher availability of electricity. Although access to electricity is not the only solution to poverty, the link between them is evident – especially in developing countries. Better electricity supply could be a catalyst to the eradication of poverty in Malawi, one kilowatt at a time.
About the Author
Armand Pineda is the Western Europe & Africa Region General Manager at Grid Solutions a GE and Alstom joint venture, in GE’s Energy Connections business. Armand has an international career with more than 20 years of experience in the business development and execution of projects of the Power Industry in Asia, Northern Africa and Europe.
Prior to his role with GE, Armand was the Region Vice-President of Western Europe and Africa for Alstom Grid. He joined Alstom Grid in April 2012 as the Vice-President in charge of the Engineering and Projects Excellence including the Large Projects Organization.
Works Cited
Africa Guide. (n.d.). Malawi People and Culture. Retrieved March 2016, from africaguide.com: http://www.africaguide.com/country/malawi/culture.htm
Brutin, E. (2014, March). European connections. Connecting.
Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited. (n.d.). Generation. Retrieved March 2016, from escom.mw: http://www.escom.mw/generation.php
International Energy Agency. (n.d.). Energy access database. Retrieved March 2016, from worldenergyoutlook.org: http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/resources/energydevelopment/energyaccessdatabase/
International Energy Agency. (n.d.). Modern energy for all: why it matters. Retrieved March 2016, from worldenergyoutlook.org: http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/resources/energydevelopment/modernenergyforallwhyitmatters/
Lindeman, T. (2015, November 6). 1.3 Billion Are Living In The Dark. Washington Post.
Muheya, G. (2015, February 17). Malawi now ranked poorest in the world: President talks of ‘desperateneed’ for aid. Nyasa Times.
Peter Mwanakatwe, G. A. (2015). Malawi 2015. African Economic Outlook.
Rural Poverty Portal. (n.d.). Geography, agriculture and the economy. Retrieved March 2016, from ruralpovertyportal.org: http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/ar/country/geography/tags/malawi
Southern African Development Community. (n.d.). Malawi. Retrieved March 2016, from sadc.int: http://www.sadc.int/member-states/malawi/
The World Bank. (n.d.). Data. Retrieved March 2016, from worldbank.org: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS
United Nations. (n.d.). Malawi. Retrieved March 2016, from undp.org: http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/MWI
