“insufficiently trained personnel, deficiency in local manufacturing, poor utility performance, theft of grid equipment, weather, gas supply, insufficient funding and the age of grid infrastructure”.that African countries have been slow to act on a crisis that has been long in the making, saying that there has been “over-reliance on coal, which runs contrary to global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions; [while] reliance on hydropower is highly susceptible to climate change”.
Malawi is an example of how climate uncertainty is having a crippling effect on power generation in a country where up to 98% of energy production is hydro-based. There is potential to generate 350MW but generation can fall as low as 200MW due to dwindling water levels. “One of the most effective ways to address these challenges is to rethink how to effectively and productively use water in the Zambezi River and other water resources for energy generation,” said Tapiwa Gomo, an independent researcher, recalling a time when electricity production at the giant Kariba Hydropower Station fed several Southern African countries.