The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) has stressed on the need for government to take lead in investing in the energy sector.

Mera Chief Executive Officer Henry Kachaje has told us that electricity is a strategic commodity and should not be absolutely left in the hands of the private sector.

“As government we really need to take real effort to make sure that they are rehabilitated on time but also increasing the capacity of generation of it,” Kachaje said.

According to Kachaje, much as there is need for massive investment in the sector, it is important that such investment should be majorly led by parastatals.

He said: “Yes, we have opened the market through the unbundling of Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) and I think it also important that national generators must be given the support so that they have adequate resources to not only rehabilitate the existing infrastructure but also invest in extra generation of power.”

Concurring with Kachaje, the Parliamentary Committee on Trade and Industry through its chairperson Simplex Chithyola Banda said government needs to seriously safeguard the sector.

“Electricity is a strategic commodity, you need to have safeguards by having state-owned institutions generating, distributing and supplying power because you can be fully assured of the sustainable availability of the commodity.

So it is indeed true that the call by Mera to have State-owned institutions involved in power sector is a good call, so I totally support that,” Chithyola Banda said.

The country has three state-owned institutions managing the power sector – namely; Escom, Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) and Power Market Limited (PML).