The electricity generation, supplying and marketing sector in Malawi was solely manned by Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) before it was unbundled, a process which gave birth to two more companies, EGENCO for generation and Power Market Limited (PML) for power marketing.
However, government has announced that it has voluntarily dissolved PML and has since transferred its Single Buyer Licence to ESCOM.
A letter signed by Secretary to the Treasury Macdonald Mafuta Mwale, dated December 22 2022, the government says there is a need to manage the transition in an orderly manner.
The letter, which is addressed to the Secretary for Energy, Solicitor General and Comptroller of Statutory Corporations, indicates that the three have been appointed into the transitional committee to manage the dissolution of PML and manage the transitional process.
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The letter has asked the three institutions to submit names of people to be in the committee by January 10 2023.
According to the letter, chairperson for the committee is the director of administration in the Ministry of Energy.
“The committee will formulate its terms of reference. Please be advised that the appointment is with effect from December 12 2022,” the letter reads.
Commenting on the development, Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda said owners of companies are free to dissolve companies, provided that solvency requirements are met.
He said a company can be voluntarily wound up only if it is solvent.
“My office gave legal advice on whether it was legally possible to transfer the single buyer licence from Escom to PML. My answer was affirmative.
“And if the owners of the company decide to dissolve the company, there is nothing wrong with it,” Chakaka Nyirenda said.
PML is a public company that was incorporated on June 25 2018 under the Companies Act (Cap. 46:03 of the Laws of Malawi). The establishment of PML was premised on government’s pursuit for an independent credit-worthy entity that instills confidence in investors. The power market structure in Malawi was vertically integrated, with Escom as a sole utility monopolising generation, transmission and distribution, and performing all system operations.
