Meet Joan Thaundi – Energy Officer at the Ministry of Energy, Malawi: EMP-G Impact#1
At the recent EMP-Global in Trieste, we took the opportunity to talk to the participants about their country’s challenges and opportunities; the value of the energy modelling training and many other related issues. This is the first in a series that we’re calling EMP-G Impact because we want to demonstrate how much long-term impact the training courses have for the participants.
Please tell us a little about the energy profile of Malawi
In Malawi, we are low in terms of electricity access rates within the region because we are basically 26% electrified. We are mainly on hydro and most of our population uses biomass. So that throws attention on issues to do with climate change because the biomass (charcoal) basically comes from our forestry. Mostly, the charcoal is produced in an unsustainable way which creates carbon emissions and health problems.
So, there are efforts within the government, donor community and private sector and some NGO stakeholders, working towards removing the over-dependence on charcoal. On the other hand, Malawi being part of the UN agreements, is still targeting the 2030 universal access rate. Our current plans and initiatives are guiding the government to perhaps focus more on off-grid. I mean, 70% off-grid and the 30% to be on-grid for us to assess the universal access.
And what has been the focus of your project here at the EMP-Global
I’ve focused more on ONSSET, which focus on the electricity planning. and it also guides decision-making. So, what ONSSET does is, you input values on a country-by-country basis and the model helps to guide you on the technologies that will help your country to achieve the universal access rates or other targets that you have set, if you are not going for the universal access rate. So, the model has basically given me an insight into the least cost technologies, and the path which Malawi should take to achieve the universal access rate.
What is the initial picture that the tool has shown you?
The model has shown that there’s a need for the country to emphasize grid decentralisation as well as grid extension as number two. The other option was PV solar and mini grids, which to me really makes sense with the situation that is back home. To come up with a new infrastructure might be so costly, so I think it is the least cost option for the country to work more on the decentralisation part, because we can use the very same infrastructure.
The extension programme also makes sense to me. With the programmes that the Malawi government is already doing on rural electrification, because it’s the least cost option, compared to building a new infrastructure. Nevertheless, we still need the country to invest more in generation and resilient infrastructure to meet the demand.
Do you have any thoughts about where the generation would come from? Would that be solar, be it wind?
Malawi is blessed with renewable energy resources such as hydro, wind, solar and geothermal.
Is your hydro affected by climate change-related droughts or is that not a problem for you yet?
Yes, yes, that’s a big problem. I’ll give you an example: in 2022, and 2023 we had cyclones – Cyclone Anna and Cyclone Freddy, which affected the southern part of Malawi. Our main hydro power plants and transmission and distribution infrastructure were affected. Furthermore, much of our hydro generation comes mainly from one river – the Shire river – so whenever the river is affected by either floods or droughts, it has direct impact on power generation. During the cyclones some machines were down at the power plants and as a country we faced more load shedding. And there was even a day when we had a national blackout. So. the floods and other climate change issues like cyclones, really affect us.
I understand, yes. So, did your department encourage you to come here, or did you apply yourself?
I was nominated by my employer, the Ministry of Energy, because currently I’m under the research and development section but also supporting the rural electrification programme. So, the objectives of this training, are very much in line with my roles and objectives.
And would you want other people in the ministry or other departments to come on something like this to share the training?
Exactly. You see, as I’ve told you, I mainly work on the rural electrification program and the research and development department. So, ONSSET focused on the least cost electrification models. but we have colleagues in other departments: finance, planning, statistics, who would benefit from gaining these modelling skills. If these colleagues get a chance to learn the models that are useful in their roles, then the Ministry would have a team of modellers, and it would be easy to work as a team by using different modelling tools to come up with solutions.
Excellent. And some other good news is that CCG is now going to be working with Malawi. Because CCG was extended by the FCDO, we have added Malawi and Nepal to our country partners. So hopefully you’ll be able to tap into that network and work with us in the future.
That would be great.
How have you found meeting other people from different countries and different situations, how has that helped you?
It has been great, both from a professional as well as social perspective during the breaks. I’ll give you an example: we were doing the mock presentation, and we were able to get a picture of how far other countries are doing and the initiatives that they have put in place. So that is the information that I can take back home instead of having to do a study tour of each country. It was amazing and very interactive.
Thank you for giving me your time, Joan. I’m very privileged to meet you. Thank you very much.