Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd, South Africa\u2019s state-owned power company, said it has suspended the managers of two of its biggest generating plants as the country suffers record electricity outages.<\/p>\n
Eskom suspended the managers of the Kendal and Tutuka plants and asked the acting managers of the Kriel and Duvha plants to return to their original positions, Eskom said in a reply to queries Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis action was taken because of sustained poor performance by these plants, which require investigation pending disciplinary action,\u201d Eskom said.<\/p>\n
Together the coal-fired plants account for about 14,400 megawatts of generating capacity, or about a third of Eskom\u2019s total potential output.<\/p>\n
Eskom on Thursday cut 4,000 megawatts from grid for much of the day and plans to reduce power availability by 3,000 megawatts on Friday as a result of a number of breakdowns at its plants.<\/p>\n
Bloomberg earlier reported that three plant managers had been suspended, citing people familiar with the situation.<\/p>\n