Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Honourable Dr Jean Mathanga, MP, is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where she is attending the inaugural African Energy Efficiency Conference.
Speaking during a ministerial panel themed “Energy Efficiency as the First Fuel for African Development – Perspectives from African Member States,” Dr Mathanga underscored Malawi’s commitment to global energy efficiency targets.
She reaffirmed the country’s pledge to double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030 in line with global goals, while also supporting Africa’s objective of increasing energy productivity by 12 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050.
The minister noted that Malawi has already demonstrated progress through various interventions aimed at conserving power and reducing both technical and commercial losses within the energy sector.
According to Dr Mathanga, these achievements show that reaching both global and continental efficiency targets is attainable with the right strategies and dedication.
However, she cautioned that success will depend on strong regulatory frameworks, sufficient investment, and effective collaboration between governments, development partners and the private sector.
Highlighting immediate priorities, Dr Mathanga said Malawi must strengthen its policy and regulatory environment by developing mandatory energy efficiency measures such as minimum energy performance standards, appliance labelling and modern building codes.
She added that the country already has key guiding documents in place, including energy efficiency targets, an integrated National Energy Policy, a Loss Reduction Roadmap, and the ongoing development of an Energy Efficiency Strategy and Action Plan.
“What we need now,” she emphasised, “is investment from both the private sector and donor community to ensure timely implementation of our plans.”
Dr Mathanga also stressed the importance of building institutional capacity through staff training and strengthening expertise in testing and certification of energy products, energy auditing, project execution, monitoring and enforcement, as well as utility digitisation and advanced metering.
Sharing success stories, she revealed that Malawi has saved more than 88 megawatts of evening peak demand through free distribution and subsidised sales of LED bulbs between 2013 and 2023.
She also highlighted significant reductions in commercial losses following the nationwide migration of customers to prepaid electricity meters.
While in Addis Ababa, Dr Mathanga participated in several high-level meetings, including sessions on accelerating investment through the African Energy Efficiency Facility and a ministerial roundtable on advancing energy efficiency as a top priority for the continent.
