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Kapichira Shuts Down

Part of the damaged dam Part of the damaged dam - pic by Happy Njalam'mano

Kapichira Hydro-Power Station has completely shut down due to the damaging of its dam by Tropical Storm Ana.

This has painted a clear picture of continued blackouts in the country.

Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) Chief Executive Officer, William Liabunya, told journalists who appreciated the damage on Monday that 130 Megawatts is no longer supplied to the national grid from the station.

“We can say that Kapichira dam is no longer there and we cannot run the machines. It is quiet a disaster.

“Kapichira was designed to produce close to 130 Megawatts. So, all that power cannot be supplied to ESCOM [Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi] as of now.

“Therefore, the country has been deprived of 130 Megawatts,” says Liabunya.

Liabunya says they are working on renovation works to bring the station back into operation.

“This is not the work that EGENCO on its own can manage to execute the costs. Therefore, we are at the planning stage now.

“We have consulted engineers to work around possible contractors to do the work to have the cost estimates and how much time we will require to reconstruct the dam,” he said.

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