Emergency Power Restoration Project

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Despite ambitions to improve and grow Malawi’s power sector, the sector continues to be vulnerable to climate change. On January 24, 2022, Tropical Storm (TS), named Ana, made landfall in southern Malawi. Due to the storm’s landfall, heavy rains exceeding 150mm (upto 300 mm in some areas) in a day and very strong winds exceeding 80km/hour were prevalent in areas over southern Malawi, causing flash flooding that affected both people, property and infrastructure. On January 26, 2022, all districts affected by the floods caused by Tropical Storm Ana were declared Disaster Areas. As of early March 2022, Tropical Storm Ana had caused 46 fatalities and affected 995,072 people and over 221,000 households with over 190,429 people (over 32,000 households) displaced . The electricity sector was one of the worst hit sectors with damage to the 129 MW Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Plant rendering the plant out of commission. The transmission and distribution infrastructure in Southern Malawi was similarly affected with 14 transmission lines and several distribution lines requiring immediate restoration through emergency repairs. Damage was also incurred at the intake and part of the canal for the Shire Valley Transformation Project (SVTP) financed by IDA (P158805), located at the right embankment of the Kapichira reservoir, just before the fuse plug that was extensively damaged by the flood waters. In response to the Government’s request for support to the energy sector, IDA CRW funds in the amount US$ 60 million are being mobilized to restore damaged electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure and damaged electricity generation infrastructure, based on detailed needs assessments carried out in the field in conjunction with the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited - ESCOM and Electricity Generation Company (Malawi) Limited - EGENCO, the owners of the damaged assets.The project has two main components as follows:Component 1: Kapichira Hydropower Dam Rehabilitation and Strengthening ($44.7 million, led by EGENCO). This component will finance the return to resilient operation of the 128 MW Kapichira hydropower plant through the rehabilitation and upgrade of Kapichira dam and spillways. The following phased approach is proposed to be implemented for the protection, rehabilitation and strengthening of Kapichira dam: The following phased approach is proposed to be implemented for protection and rehabilitation of Kapichira:• Immediate actions mobilized by EGENCO for primarily and urgently restoring main spillway capacity while also kick-starting actions on the critical path for Kapichira dam rehabilitation such as collecting topographic data and assessing the quality of sand available in the reservoir for construction commencing sediment management studies, and removal of sediment from the reservoir. • Phase 1: Energy restoration to be implemented through raising water levels back to operational levels and by developing a temporary coffer dam upstream of the damaged infrastructure (the fuse plug and 200 m damaged section of the embankment dam) in order to restore impoundment of the reservoir. This would prevent further damage while protecting works for Phase 2 and SVTP irrigation intake. Although the dam designs have not been developed, it is proposed to revise the designs of the irrigation intake to be incorporated in the dam wall. This phase would be supported by funding resources available under the SVTP project.• Phase 2: Build-back better: Based on a revised design that would integrate key technical and operational features that contributed to the failure, this phase would aim at (i) rehabilitating damaged infrastructure, (ii) upgrading the Kapichira power plant to enhance the resilience of the hydropower scheme, and (iii) supporting companion actions on O&M and importantly sediment management. Surface area of the reservoir should not be affected by the revised design. Flow regimes should also not be affected (or very little). In case some sediment flushing is planned/recommended, the ESIA and sediment management strategy will make sure that adequate management of flows is proposed together with mitigation measures. This phase would be funded under the new WB emergency operation.Component 2: Transmission and Distribution Network Restoration ($15.3 million, led by ESCOM). The damage caused by the tropical storm has been in various degrees including complete line sections, isolated structures and damage to specific equipment and materials in a manner that permanent rehabilitation works shall have to be undertaken comprising of complete line construction works, replacement of structures, and of specific equipment and materials. ESCOM’s infrastructure affected by Tropical Storm Ana include both transmission (132kV & 66kV) and distribution (33kV, 11kV and 400V lines) networks where a number of power line components have been affected. These include steel towers, wooden poles and structures, transformers, conductors and insulators among others. The damage caused by the tropical storm has been in various degrees including complete line sections, isolated structures and damage to specific equipment and materials in a manner that permanent rehabilitation works shall have to comprise of complete line construction works, replacement of structures, and replacement of specific equipment and materials.