Malawi now lets homes and businesses with solar panels feed spare power into the grid
New net-metering rules launched in Lilongwe let customers earn credit for the electricity they export. Nine customers are already connected in a pilot. Electric vehicle rules came out at the same time.
In 30 seconds
- Malawi's Ministry of Energy and its regulator MERA launched net-metering rules and an electric mobility framework in Lilongwe last week.
- Customers with solar or other renewable systems can send surplus power to the grid and get credit against future bills.
- In the pilot, 34 customers were found eligible and nine are already connected, with a combined 3.9 MW, Energy News Africa reported.
- Energy Minister Jean Chifuniro Mathanga asked the state utility ESCOM to install meters and connect applicants without delay.
Malawi has launched rules that let electricity customers with their own solar panels sell their spare power to the national grid.
The Ministry of Energy and the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) launched the net-metering rules, together with a framework for electric vehicles, at the Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe, Nyasa Times and Energy News Africa reported.
How it works
A customer with a solar system, or another renewable source, uses the power they make. When they make more than they need, the surplus flows into the grid through a meter that records power in both directions. That exported power is credited against what they later take from the grid.
The pilot
In the first phase, 34 customers were found eligible, Energy News Africa reported. Nine are already connected. Together the eligible systems could supply about 3.9 MW.
Energy Minister Dr Jean Chifuniro Mathanga thanked the UN Development Programme for supporting the rules. She asked ESCOM, the state utility, to install the new meters and connect eligible applicants without delay. Before the launch, she visited UNDP's Lilongwe office, which runs a net-metered solar system and electric vehicle chargers, Nyasa Times reported.
Officials said the rules give investors, utilities and customers clearer terms, and support private investment and cleaner transport.
Not everyone pays the same for exports
How much a customer gets for exported power depends on each country's rules. In Kenya, the regulator EPRA ruled in September that net-metering customers are credited for only half of the power they export, Kenyans.co.ke reported. The Malawi reports do not say what rate exported power will earn.
What it means for you
Many Nigerian homes and businesses already have solar panels that sit idle or waste power on sunny afternoons when batteries are full. Rules like Malawi's turn that spare power into savings. In Nigeria, whether you can do the same depends on your DisCo and on rules set by NERC or your state electricity regulator. If you are thinking of a larger solar system, ask your DisCo in writing whether it will connect an export meter, and on what terms, before you size it.
Words to know
- Net metering
- A meter that runs both ways, so power you send to the grid is subtracted from power you take from it.
- Bidirectional meter
- A meter that records electricity flowing in both directions.
- MERA
- The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority.
- ESCOM
- The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi, the state power utility.
Sources
- Nyasa Times via AllAfrica: Malawi unveils electric mobility and net-metering regulations (4 Nov 2026)
- Energy News Africa: Malawi launches net metering to boost electricity supply (6 Nov 2026)
- Kenyans.co.ke: EPRA adjusts electricity charges as Ksh4.16 per kWh pass-through costs apply (20 Sept 2026)
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