According to Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter, the power provider is implementing a recovery plan to restore as many megawatts as possible to the grid as quickly as possible – but the plan is contingent on everything going well, including fixing difficulties at its worst-performing power plant, Tutuka.
De Ruyter told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday that Eskom’s six worst-performing power plants will be the focus of its recovery efforts.
These are the stations:
- Tutuka
- Duva
- Mejuba
- Kusile
- Matla
- Kendal
Tutuka is Eskom’s worst-performing station, which de Ruyter believes is just unacceptable considering that it is one of the newest units.
The station has an energy availability factor ranging from 15% to 17%. According to Eskom’s CEO, this is regrettably low. He said that this is because crime is prevalent in the neighbourhood, and the station and its workers are under siege by criminal groups.
“The station’s manager has to wear a bulletproof vest when walking the stations and is accompanied by two bodyguards. His wife has bodyguards, and his children go to school with bodyguards – all as a result of threats being made on his life,” de Ruyter said.
He stated that crime is a serious issue that must be addressed.
If this issue is not remedied, Eskom’s whole recovery plan, which includes Tutuka, risks failing to produce the megawatts required by the national grid.
“Until the criminality at Tutuka is addressed, we will have a significant risk to delivering megawatts to the grid,” de Ruyter said.
Tutuka was one of four power plants where men of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were sent to defend personnel and facilities.
The ultimate storm
According to De Ruyter, Eskom was hit by a perfect storm, which resulted in the present electrical crisis.
In addition to the well-publicized issues with the group’s coal fleet, the power utility has had to deal with the refurbishment and upgrade of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Stations, critical failures at Kusile and Medupi, and the company’s lack of liquidity and constrained finances, which prevent it from operating things like open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs).
“if (Eskom) had more money for the OCGTs, the stages of load shedding would be reduced”.De Ruyter declared emphatically.
Despite the persisting difficulties, the CEO hinted at a light at the end of the tunnel.
According to him, the current recovery plan calls for the restoration of 1,862 megawatts to the grid by the end of March 2023, which is about the equal of two stages of load shedding. Meanwhile, 6,000MW of capacity is expected to come online within the next 24 months.
However, for this to succeed, the group will require skills, money, and time.
South Africa and the government may give Eskom additional time by increasing grid capacity. According to De Ruyter, the private sector has responded positively to the easing of the cap on own and embedded generation, with 9,200MW of projects in the queue.
While this will not be available right away, there is a lot of action here. This will bring significant relief to the grid, he said.
In addition, he stated that the government must step in and intervene by aligning energy policy, regulatory, and financial problems.
He highlighted that the formal separation of Eskom needs to happen fast, as private investment is inhibited when investors fear their bids won’t be fairly judged owing to Eskom having a “inside track”.
He believes that South Africa as a nation need a cultural transformation to begin building a culture of paying for services. This was in reference to the R57 billion or more due to the utility by municipalities that do not pay for the electricity they consume.
From Eskom’s side, he said that the group needs to address the skills gap and needs to get basic housekeeping right.
“Walking our plants, it is apparent that basic housekeeping has been neglected – restoring those programmes is a critical enabler to restore functionality and operational excellence,” he said.
