{"id":779402,"date":"2024-07-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=779402"},"modified":"2024-06-28T17:34:28","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T15:34:28","slug":"the-five-men-who-improved-eskom-and-stopped-load-shedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/energy\/779402\/the-five-men-who-improved-eskom-and-stopped-load-shedding\/","title":{"rendered":"The five men who improved Eskom and stopped load-shedding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Five men played a big role in improving Eskom\u2019s performance and helped stop load-shedding for three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These men are Electricity Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa, Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati, CFO Calib Cassim, CEO Dan Marokane, and generation executive Bheki Nxumalo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last three months, South Africans have experienced something they have not seen since 2021\u2014three months of uninterrupted power supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Load-shedding has been suspended for over three months. The last time it happened was between 23 July 2021 and 06 October 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom explained that the improved performance results from effectively executing its Generation Operational Recovery Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This plan was implemented to improve the reliability of the Eskom generation fleet to limit load-shedding this winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan included increased planned maintenance during the summer months of 2023 and 2024 to an average of 8,000 MW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom said between December 2023 and January 2024, it reached an average of 18% of the generation capacity under maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power utility said this strategy achieved the desired results, which allowed it to suspend load-shedding for over three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there is still a high likelihood of load-shedding this winter, it will not reach the same high levels as previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom\u2019s Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) decreased to 27.4% in this financial year, and its energy availability factor (EAF) increased to 61.2%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur generation\u2019s performance continues to surpass this year\u2019s winter forecast. The current unplanned outages remain at an average of 12,000 MW,\u201d Eskom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d Eskom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1 April 2024 to 20 June 2024, Eskom spent R2.71 billion on OCGTs, producing 390 GWh to meet demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is 67% less than the R8.26 billion spent from 1 April 2023 to 20 June 2023 to produce 1,354 GWh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality is that load-shedding was suspended because of lower demand and increased reliability of Eskom\u2019s generation fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati said Eskom\u2019s performance improvement was made possible by leadership changes, its maintenance plan, and great execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the key management changes at Eskom was the appointment of Bheki Nxumalo as the power utility\u2019s generation executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After he was appointed, Nxumalo reviewed Eskom\u2019s plant managers and other senior employees at its power stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has resulted in extensive changes to the leadership at some of the utility\u2019s worst-performing power stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another big change was how Eskom performed maintenance. The new plan, approved in March 2023, used original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, maintenance was performed by companies with little knowledge of Eskom\u2019s generation units. Breakdowns soon after maintenance was completed were common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original equipment manufacturers, in comparison, have extensive knowledge about the equipment used at Eskom\u2019s power plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyati said that maintenance, in partnership with OEMs, ensured that generating units returned to service were reliable and would not break down quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One should also not discount Ramokgopa’s impact. He provided the political support needed to improve Eskom\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since being appointed Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity in March 2023, he has regularly visited power stations to support Eskom employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also provided regular updates about the progress of South Africa\u2019s Energy Action Plan (EAP), which aims to end load-shedding and achieve energy security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a look at the five men who significantly improved Eskom\u2019s performance and helped to stop load-shedding for three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electricity Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kgosientso Ramokgopa was appointed the Minister in the Presidency responsible for electricity on 6 March 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He oversees all aspects of the government’s response to the ongoing electricity crisis, which includes Eskom\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the last fifteen months, Ramokgopa regularly visited Eskom\u2019s power plants and met with managers and other employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also provided the much-needed political support for Eskom to conduct its affairs without undue interference from its main shareholder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramokgopa promised South Africa that load-shedding would be reduced in 2024, and that is exactly what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati has been instrumental in improving Eskom\u2019s performance since his appointment on 1 November 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His appointment as Eskom chairman was widely welcomed because he was an engineer with extensive business experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After he became chairman, he visited power stations, spoke to managers, and created a comprehensive turnaround plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results of this turnaround plan, implemented in March 2023, are now showing in Eskom\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom generation executive Bheki Nxumalo<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bheki Nxumalo was appointed Eskom\u2019s group executive for generation in April 2023. He has extensive experience in operations, power station management, and production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before this role, he was Eskom Enterprise and Eskom Rotek Industries CEO and served as station manager at two power plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less than a year after he was appointed, Eskom saw a significant performance improvement and a prolonged break in load-shedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyati singled out Nxumalo as the main person helping to address Eskom\u2019s generation challenges and stop load-shedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Eskom acting CEO Calib Cassim<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An unsung hero in Eskom\u2019s performance is Calib Cassim, appointed interim chief executive after Andre de Ruyter\u2019s sudden departure in early 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under his leadership, Eskom stabilised its declining energy availability factor and started to improve towards the end of his tenure. It was the first improvement in five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa got through the 2023 winter months better than expected, with lower-than-planned demand and improved generating capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he handed the reins to Dan Marokane, the power utility was on an upward trajectory thanks to the implementation of the recovery plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eskom\u2019s performance under new chief executive Dan Marokane has improved dramatically, with fewer breakdowns and a much higher energy availability factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marokane, a qualified chemical and petroleum engineer who previously served as a group executive at the power utility, took over on 1 March 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He continued the good work under Cassim\u2019s leadership. Breakdowns are lower, maintenance has improved, and Eskom\u2019s EAF is rising rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said Eskom plans to increase its energy availability factor (EAF) to 70% in the next 12 to 36 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will also future-proof the organisation to enable energy security, growth, and long-term sustainability for South Africa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Five men played a big role in improving Eskom\u2019s performance and helped stop load-shedding for three months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":779405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9874],"tags":[20111,20110,19927,20112,1164,20113,20114,8488,1887],"class_list":["post-779402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-bheki-nxumalo","tag-calib-cassim","tag-dan-marokane","tag-electricity-minister-kgosientso-ramokgopa","tag-eskom","tag-eskom-maintenance-plan","tag-generation-operational-recovery-plan","tag-kgosientso-ramokgopa","tag-mteto-nyati"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=779402"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":779414,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779402\/revisions\/779414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}