Malawi suffered a power outage that hit the entire country on Saturday (local time). This was announced by the national energy company Escom.
“Due to a system failure around 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, the electricity supply in the country was cut,” Escom said. According to the energy company, a solution is being worked hard.
The state-owned company apologized for the inconvenience and advised its users to turn off their electrical appliances so that power could be restored faster than expected. It is not clear what caused the breakdown. The country has been dealing with massive power outages, lasting up to eight hours, for several months.
The new national blackout is sparking angry reactions online. “Let’s just admit our country is poor and broke,” one resident posted on Facebook.
Less than 15 percent of the population of over 19 million has access to electricity, more than 90 percent of which comes from hydropower, according to the World Bank, especially in Lake Malawi. More than half of the population lives below the poverty line.
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