ZAMBIA HERE LEARN SOMETHING, STOP POLITICKING AND BLAMING GOD FOR YOUR INCOMPETENCE AND LACK OF FORESIGHT
The five men who improved Eskom and stopped load-shedding
Five men played a big role in improving Eskom’s performance and helped stop load-shedding for three months.
These men are Electricity Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa, Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati, CFO Calib Cassim, CEO Dan Marokane, and generation executive Bheki Nxumalo.
Over the last three months, South Africans have experienced something they have not seen since 2021—three months of uninterrupted power supply.
Load-shedding has been suspended for over three months. The last time it happened was between 23 July 2021 and 06 October 2021.
Eskom explained that the improved performance results from effectively executing its Generation Operational Recovery Plan.
This plan was implemented to improve the reliability of the Eskom generation fleet to limit load-shedding this winter.
The plan included increased planned maintenance during the summer months of 2023 and 2024 to an average of 8,000 MW.
Eskom said between December 2023 and January 2024, it reached an average of 18% of the generation capacity under maintenance.
The power utility said this strategy achieved the desired results, which allowed it to suspend load-shedding for over three months.
Although there is still a high likelihood of load-shedding this winter, it will not reach the same high levels as previous years.
Eskom’s Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) decreased to 27.4% in this financial year, and its energy availability factor (EAF) increased to 61.2%.
“Our generation’s performance continues to surpass this year’s winter forecast. The current unplanned outages remain at an average of 12,000 MW,” Eskom said.
The weekly EAF has moved from 57.0% at the beginning of the financial year to 62.2% from 17 June to 20 June 2024.
“The EAF improvement is primarily due to a drop in the unplanned outages of the generation units, averaging 11,800 MW during the past seven days,” Eskom said.
The weekly EAF has moved from 57.0% at the beginning of the financial year to 62.2% from 17 June to 20 June 2024.
“The EAF improvement is primarily due to a drop in the unplanned outages of the generation units, averaging 11,800 MW during the past seven days,” Eskom said.
Many people speculated that load-shedding would return after the election and that Eskom kept the lights on by burning diesel. These rumours were false.
From 1 April 2024 to 20 June 2024, Eskom spent R2.71 billion on OCGTs, producing 390 GWh to meet demand.
This is 67% less than the R8.26 billion spent from 1 April 2023 to 20 June 2023 to produce 1,354 GWh.
The reality is that load-shedding was suspended because of lower demand and increased reliability of Eskom’s generation fleet.
Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati said Eskom’s performance improvement was made possible by leadership changes, its maintenance plan, and great execution.
One of the key management changes at Eskom was the appointment of Bheki Nxumalo as the power utility’s generation executive.
After he was appointed, Nxumalo reviewed Eskom’s plant managers and other senior employees at its power stations.
This has resulted in extensive changes to the leadership at some of the utility’s worst-performing power stations.
Another big change was how Eskom performed maintenance. The new plan, approved in March 2023, used original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Previously, maintenance was performed by companies with little knowledge of Eskom’s generation units. Breakdowns soon after maintenance was completed were common.
Original equipment manufacturers, in comparison, have extensive knowledge about the equipment used at Eskom’s power plants.
Nyati said that maintenance, in partnership with OEMs, ensured that generating units returned to service were reliable and would not break down quickly.
One should also not discount Ramokgopa’s impact. He provided the political support needed to improve Eskom’s performance.
Since being appointed Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity in March 2023, he has regularly visited power stations to support Eskom employees.
He also provided regular updates about the progress of South Africa’s Energy Action Plan (EAP), which aims to end load-shedding and achieve energy security.
Here is a look at the five men who significantly improved Eskom’s performance and helped to stop load-shedding for three months.
Source Business Tech
In Zambia everything is political, people cannot engage productively. The only news that excites our people is politics, literally almost everyone is a politician. Engage in product activities where you add value.
In addition it is not even sensible politics. It is always ethnic (tribal) and regional politics day in and day out.Talk of that mirage called One Zambia One Nation!
Question is how does South Africa generate their electricity? If it is hydro power, then there is little they can do if there is a drought.
However, if their power comes from coal or heavy fuel oil or nuclear reactors, then there is a lot they can do to improve their efficiency. Otherwise don’t compare apples and oranges.
This is a very poor comparison, Zambia heavily depends on hydro power and the water comes with the rains. In the absence of rains(drought), there is nothing to plan about, it’s like someone struggling or planning to drive a speed boat on a dry land.
The preamble sounds crazy to me even if the advice may sound better but approach matters.If I were government I would have doubted the whole thing.It doesn’t sound perfect afterall.