A five-day blackout is crushing a Malawian district with no end in sight. Residents and businesses across Phalombe District, including Phalombe Boma and Chiringa Trading Centre, are stuck without electricity, wrecking livelihoods and stressing hospitals. Barber Peter Moyenda says his income is gone without power for his clippers, while a trader at Chiringa watched perishable goods spoil with no refrigeration. The outage also threatens health facilities relying on electric medical equipment, a major worry during a busy season.
An unofficial message from someone claiming to be with ESCOM, the power utility, blamed issues on the main supply line, stating electricity had only made it to the district's main boma so far. They called for extra inspection teams to fully fix the problem. ESCOM itself has not given any official statement or repair timeline, leaving everyone in the dark. The continuing failure is amplifying losses for households and businesses who are begging for a solution before things get even worse.
An unofficial message from someone claiming to be with ESCOM, the power utility, blamed issues on the main supply line, stating electricity had only made it to the district's main boma so far. They called for extra inspection teams to fully fix the problem. ESCOM itself has not given any official statement or repair timeline, leaving everyone in the dark. The continuing failure is amplifying losses for households and businesses who are begging for a solution before things get even worse.
