Minister outlines plans to boost rural electricity access through MAREP, ASCENT - Malawi News | Breaking News, Politics, Business & Sports | Nyasa Times
Minister of Energy Dr Jean Mathanga has said government is intensifying efforts to expand electricity access in rural areas through the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT). . .
Minister of Energy Dr Jean Mathanga has said government is intensifying efforts to expand electricity access in rural areas through the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) project and the Malawi Rural Electrification Programme (MAREP), as the country transitions from MAREP Phase 9 to Phase 10. Mathanga: Government scaling up power generation as more rural areas connectedShe said the two programmes remain key vehicles for connecting rural communities to the national grid. Speaking on the sidelines of Tuesday’s parliamentary sitting, Mathanga said the ministry was targeting more rural consumers while responding to growing demand for electricity nationwide. “First and foremost is to make sure that we upscale our MAREP programme, because the programme that is targeting rural masses is MAREP. So we are now in MAREP 9, and now we will be moving shortly into MAREP 10,” she said. Mathanga acknowledged that current electricity generation capacity remains inadequate, but said government was working to increase supply in line with the pace of new connections. “Of course we know our generation is not adequate, so as fast as we are connecting people, we are making sure that we also generate more,” she said. The minister said government was relying on national utility EGENCO to roll out additional hydro and solar projects, while also engaging private investors to support power generation. “We are making sure that using our own utility, EGENCO, they embark on a number of projects, both hydro as well as solar, and we are also courting investors to come in and join us, to invest whether in solar or any other form, so that we have enough power to be able to distribute to consumers,” she said. Dr Mathanga also highlighted the World Bank-funded ASCENT project, which she said comprises three components aimed at improving electricity access for rural communities. “Under ASCENT we have got three components. The first component we are targeting learning and health facilities. We are currently looking at all centres that are within a 500-metre radius to our ESCOM infrastructure,” she said. She said the second component would focus on trading centres and domestic consumers, while the third would support customers through solar rooftop solutions. “In the third component we will be looking at solar rooftop customers. Of course, the customers will be requested to part with a concessionary fee of some sort,” she said. Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :