The Eskom board has come out strongly in support of group chief executive Andre de Ruyter’s move to suspend power station managers over this week’s escalation in loadshedding. It has also committed to driving culture change in the organisation.
The managers of the Utuka and Kendal power stations were summarily suspended pending disciplinary enquiries, while interventions are underway at the Kriel and Duvha power stations.
In response to the escalation of loadshedding to Stage 4 during the past two days, the Eskom board is working closely with executive management to resolve the matter.
There are 5 000MW of capacity currently on planned maintenance, and 10 950MW (12 units over the past seven days) on unplanned breakdowns. This has culminated in an approximately 3 000MW energy demand deficit, aggravated by high demand during the cold front.
Some units have since returned to service, but the board states that the level of failures is unacceptably high.
“Whilst it is true that the aging fleet is plagued by legacy issues of neglect and omitted maintenance and is therefore susceptible to unpredictable breakdowns, it is also true that the situation is exacerbated by serious issues of apathetic behaviour by some management staff,” it says in a statement today.
“Engagements have been held with other power station managers to ensure that the previous culture of weak consequence management will no longer be the norm and will no longer be tolerated at Eskom.”
Management has deployed three senior generation managers to the sites in question (Duvha, Kriel, Tutuka and Kendal power stations) to provide leadership and oversight in person.
“The board and executives are fully cognisant of the substantial strain that loadshedding exerts on the wellbeing of citizens, on an already depressed economy and are committed to attaining sustainability and reliability of the Eskom generation plant,” the statement reads.
“The board and executive management have met twice in the past two days, with the minister of public Eenterprises, Pravin Gordhan, to interrogate the systemic causes of the loadshedding and the measures being taken to repair breakdowns.
“In these meetings it has been agreed that an urgent culture change and high-level competence enhancement across all 44 000 staff, which the GCE began upon his arrival, should be accelerated, promoted and strongly supported.”