The biggest labor group at South Africa\u2019s Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd blamed \u201cpoor leadership\u201d for ongoing nationwide power cuts, a discordant sign as the utility embarks on a plan to become profitable again.<\/p>\n
The National Union of Mineworkers is \u201cvery disappointed with the performance\u201d of Eskom Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter and the lack of a plan to prevent outages, it said Thursday in a statement.<\/p>\n
The group also continues to oppose the use of independent electricity producers, which Eskom is counting on to help increase generation.<\/p>\n
South Africa could experience power shortages through at least April, presenting another threat to an economy already hampered by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Eskom is saddled with R464 billion ($31.3 billion) of debt and has been unable to provide reliable power since 2008, when outages began.<\/p>\n
\u201cEskom has regularly communicated its plan to improve the performance of the power stations and to reduce loadshedding,\u201d the utility said in response to questions, using a local term for power cuts.<\/p>\n
There is \u201ca good working relationship with its labor representatives, including the NUM,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
The NUM, which represents about a third of Eskom\u2019s more than 44,700-strong workforce, urged the government to change the leadership at Eskom. Relations between the labor union and management have been strained in the past over issues, including wages.<\/p>\n
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, the second-biggest union at the utility, also criticized the leadership that\u2019s been in place for about a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery little has changed since De Ruyter took over Eskom,\u201d Irvin Jim, Numsa\u2019s general secretary, said in a reply to questions. \u201cThey have no ideas on how to fix the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
The government-guaranteed tranche of Eskom 2028 debt yielded 4.7% by 12:40 p.m. in Johannesburg. That\u2019s up from 4.6% on Jan. 4, the lowest since the notes were first traded in 2018.<\/p>\n