By Burnett Munthali

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.

In her opening remarks delivered during a high-level ministerial panel themed “Energy Efficiency as the First Fuel for African Development – Perspectives from African Member States”, Dr Mathanga reaffirmed Malawi’s commitment to global energy efficiency targets.

She stated that Malawi is determined to contribute to the worldwide goal of doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030.

She added that this aligns with Africa’s own ambitious target of increasing energy productivity by 12 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050.

Dr Mathanga said Malawi’s experience in reducing both technical and commercial losses has demonstrated that the continent’s energy efficiency goals are indeed achievable.

She emphasised that success in this area requires strong regulation, adequate investment and a collaborative approach involving governments, development partners and the private sector.

Dr Mathanga highlighted the immediate priorities necessary for Malawi to advance its energy efficiency programmes.

She said the first step is strengthening the policy and regulatory framework to introduce specific and mandatory measures such as minimum energy performance standards, appliance labelling and enforceable building codes.

She noted that Malawi already has energy efficiency targets, a National Energy Policy that integrates efficiency, a Loss Reduction Roadmap and is developing an Energy Efficiency Strategy and Action Plan.

She said what remains is substantial investment from both the private sector and development partners to ensure that these plans are implemented on time.

The Minister also underscored the need for institutional capacity building, particularly in areas such as product testing and certification, energy auditing, project implementation, monitoring, enforcement and utility digitisation.

Dr Mathanga reported that Malawi has already recorded notable milestones in efficiency, including saving over 88 megawatts of evening peak demand through LED bulb distribution programmes conducted between 2013 and 2023.

She added that the migration of electricity customers to prepaid meters has significantly reduced commercial losses.

While in Addis Ababa, Dr Mathanga also participated in several strategic meetings, including sessions on accelerating investment through the African Energy Efficiency Facility and a ministerial roundtable on prioritising energy efficiency in Africa.