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| Malawi suffers blackouts as drought exposes 98% reliance on hydro power | Malawi suffers blackouts as drought exposes 98% reliance on hydro power |
| (21 days later) | |
| Large parts of Malawi have been plunged into darkness as water levels at the country’s main hydro power plant fell to critical levels due to a severe drought, according to its electricity company. | Large parts of Malawi have been plunged into darkness as water levels at the country’s main hydro power plant fell to critical levels due to a severe drought, according to its electricity company. |
| The impoverished southern African country which relies on hydroelectricity has been hit by intermitted blackouts since last year, but the outages have recently worsened, lasting up to 25 hours. | The impoverished southern African country which relies on hydroelectricity has been hit by intermitted blackouts since last year, but the outages have recently worsened, lasting up to 25 hours. |
| The state-owned Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) said on Thursday that power output had been halved as water levels in the Shire river dropped to critical levels. | The state-owned Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) said on Thursday that power output had been halved as water levels in the Shire river dropped to critical levels. |
| The water from the river normally generates a total of 300 megawatts of electricity, which is 98% of the country’s supply. “For the past three weeks, the available capacity was 160 megawatts,” said Escom said in a statement. | The water from the river normally generates a total of 300 megawatts of electricity, which is 98% of the country’s supply. “For the past three weeks, the available capacity was 160 megawatts,” said Escom said in a statement. |
| Affected areas include large parts of the capital Lilongwe and in the second city of Blantyre. | Affected areas include large parts of the capital Lilongwe and in the second city of Blantyre. |
| A number of businesses and hospitals in the country had been forced to use diesel-powered generators to keep the lights on. | A number of businesses and hospitals in the country had been forced to use diesel-powered generators to keep the lights on. |
| According to the World Bank, only 8% of Malawi’s 17 million people have access to electricity. | According to the World Bank, only 8% of Malawi’s 17 million people have access to electricity. |