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Eskom and Government: Do Spin Doctors Ever Co-Ordinate?

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On the one hand we have government saying that load shedding will ‘soon’ be a thing of the past whilst on the other hand we have Eskom advocating permanent load shedding.

Just who is telling porky pies here?

Of course this is an ideal opportunity for me to get on my high horse and rail against the root cause of all our power problems – the National Party.

HUH?

In the bad old days the National Party established Eskom with the aim of providing power for the country through this one single utility.

And. how did they accomplish this: By using taxpayer money to establish and maintain artificially low prices for energy for a very long time that eventually forced smaller electricity producers – like Nelson Mandela Bay or the then Port Elizabeth Municipality – to buy and resell from Eskom.

Who the fuck forgot to tell the ANC that this was how Eskom got so powerful? Or did they and the ANC decide that living off of taxpayer money was the right thing to do?

Now we are up shit creek without a paddle as we wait for Eskom to implode.

Anyway – THIS is what the government has to say (followed by Eskom’s spin as well):

Eskom Board Chairperson Mpho Makwana says the power utility is exploring the possibility of permanently implementing Stages 2 and 3 of load shedding over the next two years in order to give power stations the “headroom” to address power station maintenance and ensure predictability for South Africans.

He was speaking during a virtual media briefing on the power utility’s system challenges and a presentation of its turnaround plan on Sunday.

Makwana explained that this move is part of a broader plan to recover Eskom’s ailing coal fleet power stations.

“The recovery of generation will not happen within a short space of time. The execution of the recovery plan requires that power stations are given the headroom to execute the recovery plan that requires either adding additional capacity to create space to do so while ensuring that proper maintenance is done so without a constant drive that is reactive.

“We want to ensure that we create some predictability by implementing some level of permanent stage of Stage 2 and 3 load shedding for the next two years in order to give sufficient space for maintenance while giving the country a level of predictability or consistency to plan their lives better.

“Shuttling from one stage [of load shedding] to another in a short space of time is not good for any business in any context within our communities,” he said.

Makwana assured South Africans that teams at power stations around the country are “working hard to get better” reliability.

He said that the “key levers” to address the challenges at the power utility are “issues relating to leadership, issues relating to organisational culture and power internal controls” with the process to appoint a new CEO and generation head already underway.

Turning it around

Makwana said Eskom’s recovery plan includes targeted recovery of Kendal, Matla, Majuba, Duvha, Tutuka and Kusile power stations in order to deal with the current load shedding challenges.

“These stations must be prioritised by developing the best talent, sufficient capital and the best OEM [Original Equipment Manufacturer] support in critical plants.

“Getting the six power stations reliable and [the] additional unit at Kusile [expected back on the grid in July] will stop load shedding in a period of 24 months as we have previously indicated. We also need to protect and guard the best performing power stations such as Matimba, Medupi and Lethabo so that they do not deteriorate,” Makwana said.

He added that the power utility will embark on providing incentives to power stations performing well.

“We need to…realise that best outcomes come when people are inspired and committed to deliver results. Therefore we need to incentivise the best performing stations as well as the people that are there to continue with retaining critical skills [and] sustaining world class performance at those power stations.

“Currently, there’s no incentive in our organisation for spurring on good performance. This will also be vital as part of our turnaround plan to ensuring that we boost the morale and inculcate a high performance culture in Eskom,” he said.

The board chairperson highlighted that although the power utility faces challenges, these are not insurmountable.

“We are fast approaching the centenary of Eskom this March. This is testament to the rich history and resilience that this organisation has and by inference, the resilience of the nation that it serves.

“This confirms that the capacity challenges that Eskom is dealing with are not insurmountable. We do have the ability to fix the plant reliability and availability challenges,” he said.

Makwana called on all stakeholders – including South Africans – to work with the power utility as it works towards a turnaround for the benefit of all.

“The support required by Eskom from all South Africans is to use electricity sparingly.

“The Eskom distribution division will be intensifying their focus in demand side management efforts. There are numerous interventions that are being explored such as roof top solar roll-out, micro-grid roll out programme and energy conservation programmes such as energy efficient lighting.

“We need support with this and many other prospects that many other South Africans…continue to share with Eskom and government in a broad based national effort required from all communities and citizens to be part of the solutions to this load shedding challenge,” he said.

The National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) on Saturday released a six-month update on progress in the implementation of the Energy Action Plan.

Load shedding to persist, but blackout highly unlikely – Eskom

South Africa is not in any immediate danger of a total energy system-wide blackout.

This is according to Eskom Chief Operating Officer Jan Oberholzer, who addressed a media briefing on Sunday.

“Although the stages of load shedding have been high and for extended periods, this does not indicate that the power system is approaching a blackout.

“As long as we are in load shedding to ensure the appropriate reserves are maintained, there is no risk of any higher load shedding at this point,” Oberholzer said.

The power utility is expected to implement Stage 3 load shedding from 4pm on Sunday afternoon until 5am on Monday morning.

Stage 2 loadshedding will then be implemented from 5am until 4pm and on Monday afternoon, Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented at 4pm to 5am.

Evening loadshedding will then be reduced to Stage 3 daily from Tuesday until further notice.

Oberholzer explained that throughout the week, the power utility has battled severe challenges which saw the continuation of Stage 6 load shedding which ultimately dropped to lower stages.

“If we look at the week, we shut down and tripped 19 units which is about 9 300MW while we managed to return [to service] 22 units….which was 12 000MW. So we had a net gain capacity of about 2700 MW.

“The 4500MW [of long term breakdowns] is really making it challenging for ourselves because that basically represents five stages of load shedding. But…all of this is managed on a project so there’s real dedication and promise,” he said.

Turning to the power utility’s pump storage facilities, Oberholzer said dam levels at these are increasing and diesel has also been procured.

The pump storage facilities and the open cycle gas turbines [OCGTs] collectively contribute some 5700MW of emergency generation capacity and without these, South Africa would face an additional six stages of load shedding.

“We are on track to completely replenish the pump storage dam levels specifically at Ingula and Palmiet while we have some challenges at Drakensberg and the reason being that the two of the four pumps are out of service for planned maintenance.

“We have procured about 50 million litres of diesel that will be used as and when required and to make sure that we manage the pump storage dam levels and to make sure that we reduce the stages of load shedding during the day,” he said.

Oberholzer warned that although lower stages of load shedding are being implemented, the situation remains unpredictable.

“While there has been some improvement in available generation capacity, allowing us to drop the stages of load shedding, we’ve also seen an increase in demand for electricity as industry and businesses try to catch up on lost production.

“This, combined with the unpredictability and unreliability of the generation fleet, makes planning quite difficult and this may result in changes to load shedding at short notice in the week to come,” Oberholzer said.

Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said although the power utility continues to face challenges, these are being addressed in collaboration with government.

“I would like…to offer my sincere apology for load shedding and the huge and widespread disruption that this has caused to many parts of our economy but also to the daily lives of all our citizens.

“This is highly regrettable and I can give the country the assurance that the Eskom team is hard at work in collaboration with the National Energy Crisis Committee [NECOM] as well as our partners in various government departments to address the issues that have led us to the current situation and to find sustainable solutions going forward,” de Ruyter said. – SAnews.gov.za

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.