Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. (GCIS)
New Eskom chief executive Dan Marokane’s experience will be instrumental in ensuring that the utility implements the recommendations of German consortium VGBE on resolving its structural and plant maintenance challenges, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said on Monday.
The VGBE report, commissioned by the treasury, recommended that Eskom address plant defects and implement “prudent operation and maintenance practices” to prevent load-shedding.
Ramokgopa told a media briefing that various reports generated by the World Bank and the Eskom board, aimed at reviewing the performance of the utility, would also help Marokane to find solutions to deteriorating plant facilities, low staff morale and the management of equipment procurement.
“There are greater levels of stability at Eskom now that we have a more permanent appointment at the apex level, in the form of the CEO Dan Marokane and the leadership of the board under Dr Mteto Nyati, essentially trying to ensure that there is a consolidation first of these reports, their findings and recommendations,” Ramokgopa said.
“I must emphasise that Eskom is already working on the recommendations that have been [published] and is responding to some of those issues that have already been mentioned in the VGBE report.
“So, we’re looking forward to that consolidation and a more structured approach to how we are responding to these issues.”
The VGBE consortium report said a lack of authority and transparency among decision-makers at Eskom was among the root causes of the energy crisis at the power utility, which has led to a decline in the energy availability factor — the percentage of maximum energy generation that a power plant is capable of supplying to the grid, limited only by planned and unplanned outages.
Ramokgopa said he had been working with Eskom on further interventions and strategic initiatives to stabilise it.
The minister said, despite the report’s call to shift Eskom’s attention from maintenance and the energy availability factor, it would continue to do maintenance because delaying the process could lead to severe consequences for its generation fleet.
He added that the focus on maintenance was evident in the figures from December to January, where 18% of generating capacity was undergoing planned maintenance.
“We are committed to thorough maintenance practices, avoiding shortcuts and ensuring sustained investment in maintenance going forward,” Ramokgopa said.
Last year, Eskom embarked on an intensive maintenance programme to help reduce the impact of load-shedding. This yielded short-term positive results for the utility, which was able to suspend daytime load-shedding.
But the gains were short-lived as the energy availability factor continued to decrease, going from 60% in October last year to 51% in February.
Last Friday, Sustainable Energy Africa director Mark Borchers told the Mail & Guardian that the VGBE report highlighted the need for Eskom to get rid of political influence, so that it could function as a utility, rather than an “employment agency”.
“It may be prudent to focus on maintaining Eskom’s operations and incrementally improving its efficiency, while also prioritising alternative energy sources,” he said.
Forensic investigator at security company Bizz Tracers Calvin Rafadi said the report echoed concerns he had raised in previous reports about mismanagement in the procurement of spare parts and the “false” emergency procuring of parts.