Hearty congratulations to our Executive Director for this well deserved recognition by the National Planning Commission of Malawi for his continued contribution to the country's governance architecture. #MW63 #Nzotheka

RENEWABLE MINIGRIDS ARE PART OF THE SOLUTION TO MALAWI'S ENERGY CRISIS
As we complain about blackouts, people of Molosiyo, Sitolo and Ndawambe Villages have power All-day Every Day curtsy of Community Energy Malawi -CEM operated #SitoloSolarMingrid. About 40 businesses have now been catalysed and all of them by locals from the villages. Access to clean electricity is key to catalysing opportunities. Sitolo village now has an oil expeller and produce own cooking oil with some sold to Refineries in nearby Chipata City of Zambia. They make between MK40-50,000/20l container. Maize mills and the sun flower oil expeller have also given rise to other agriculture value chains as production of broilers and dairy is on the increase. Maize bran and sunflower cake are main ingredients for livestock feed. Women no longer trek 18kms for milling, giving them more productive time in the process. School going children in 57% of households now study an average of 7 hours per week at home. Replacing diesel maize mill now avoids an estimated 15,000kgs of CO2 emissions/year. With kerosene use eliminated in connected households over 16,000kgs of CO2 emissions are avoided/year. At a tariff of MK200/kWh domestic, MK211/kWh business and K101/kWh social, the Minigrid is proving that when customers get the service they need, they are willing to pay cost reflective tariff. In our Minigrid we identified and trained local technicians from the village resulting in optimised costs and efficient services. We were shortlisted for the 2022 Ashden Energy Access Skills International Award. Ours is a story that has prompted over 100 communities in Zambia and Malawi to demand similar services. We have just secured financial support from The Pebble Trust and Community Energy Scotland to conduct feasibility studies in the new communities. Our vision is to scale up minigrids and connect up to 1 million Malawians by 2040. Meanwhile we are extending our foothold into Zambia where Community Energy Zambia is being incorporated. This, ladies and gentlemen is a story by a Malawian organisation brightening the corners of Malawi. We will share our lessons under The Scottish Government supported #GlobalRenewableCenter programe aimed at building strong North South Partnerships.
UNDP Malawi Ministry Of Energy-Malawi Standard Bank Malawi National Bank of Malawi IEEE IEEE Power & Energy Society IEEE Smart Village National Planning Commission of Malawi Idriss Ali Nassah Daniel Dube Thandie Wa Pulimuheya Dr Lazarus Chakwera Saulos Klaus Chilima Ibrahim Matola, Minister of Energy

Congratulations to Malawi Broadcasting Corporation's journalist Henry Haukeya for being among the winners at the 2022 SADC Media Awards. We celebrate with you.

#MW2063 #Ndizotheka