Electricity and Control July 2024

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Eskom GCE Marokane reports on his first 100 days

Eskom Group Chief Executive (GCE) Dan Marokane on 14 June 2024 presented an update from his first 100 days in office, sharing the progress made towards addressing Eskom’s business chal lenges and repositioning the utility for growth and sustainability. Marokane said his first 100 days have been focused on as sessing the effectiveness of the Generation Operational Recovery Plan, reviewing the progress on the implementation of Eskom’s un bundling and engaging with internal and external stakeholders to create and build alignment, as well putting in place the building blocks for the creation of a competitive and sustainable Eskom. He noted that Generation performance has shown a step change, with almost 80 days of no loadshedding (at that date and continuing) and unplanned outages consistently around 12 GW (with a low of 9.5 GW at one point), below the winter planning as sumption of 15.5 GW which would trigger up to Stage 2 loadshed ding on some days. This performance comes from a sustained multi-dimensional programme involving adequate human resourc es, aggressive planned maintenance on the back of financial cer tainty, the use of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for crit ical systems, and progressive implementation of interventions in response to the findings of the assessment conducted by VGBe. This improved performance has also had a positive impact on Eskom’s financial position, given the significant year-on-year reduc tion in the use of diesel in open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs), trans lating into over R4 billion in savings in the current financial year. “Eskom’s executives and employees have helped deliver these significant results to date and we have a good base to build on. I have also noticed a significant improvement in mo rale,” Marokane said. In the area of the unbundling of the business, plans are on track to operationalise the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) on 1 July 2024, following the fulfilment of the suspensive conditions at the end of March 2024. As part of incorporating the lessons learnt from the unbundling of the transmission business, Eskom is concluding the process of augmenting its internal resources with external support for the focused unbundling project management unit to drive efficiencies for the remainder of the programme. This is expected to enable faster execution of the unbundling process. In respect of stakeholder engagement, the GCE has transformers could have been used to improve the reliability of the network, extend electricity access to more communities, improve the experience of Eskom’s paying customers, and create more jobs,” said Agnes Mlambo, Acting Group Executive for Eskom Distribution. “A transformer damaged by overloading can leave an area without power for up to six months.” She emphasised that: “Protecting Eskom’s assets is in the best interest of all South Africans.” To prevent load reduction and abrupt loss of supply, Eskom has launched the ‘Save Your Transformers, Save Lives’ campaign through which it urges customers to reduce their consumption, ensure that the electricity they consume is legally connected, Continued from page 4

addressed over 10 000 employees in person – one quarter of the entire workforce – and he has engaged with over 200 stakeholders in government, organised business and labour, among original equipment manufacturers and financial institutions. This process was used to create awareness and alignment

Dan Marokane, Group Chief Executive, Eskom.

on the tactical shifts required for the strategic direction of the business, and to further improve engagement with employees. “We are putting the building blocks in place to rebuild trust and credibility in Eskom through transparent performance, with the intent to re-affirm the company as worthy of further future in vestment as we undertake our strategic initiatives. It is our inten tion to remain a critical player in South Africa’s evolving energy market,” Marokane continued. Delivering on the strategic initiatives Over the next 36 months Eskom will pursue its strategy across a number of key initiatives to deliver value. These include: ƒ Increasing the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) to 70% in the next 12 to 36 months ƒ Returning more than 2.5 GW in capacity to the grid by March 2025 and developing an executable initial pipeline of at least 2 GW of clean energy projects by 2026 ƒ Re-baselining the cost trajectory and improving efficien cies ƒ Advocating and pursuing a sustainable solution on munic ipality debt ƒ Delivering the unbundling of the Distribution and Genera tion divisions ƒ Accelerating the implementation of initiatives to enable a Just Energy Transition. Eskom will continue to focus on implementing generation re covery, strengthening governance and tackling crime and cor ruption, with a view to future proofing the organisation to enable energy security, growth, and long-term sustainability to the ben efit of South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. paid for, and purchased from legal vendors, and to report illegal activities. Customers can learn more about energy saving tips at: www.eskom.co.za/eas/energy-saving-tips Load reduction is a long-established process which Eskom uses in specific areas when there is sufficient electricity available, but a transformer is in danger of being overloaded, putting people’s lives and livelihoods at risk. By contrast loadshedding is used when there is an insufficient supply of electricity. Customers are urged to report criminal activities such as ille gal connections, theft and vandalism that can damage electricity infrastructure to the Eskom Crime Line on 0800 112 722. For more information visit: www.eskom.co.za

For more information visit: www.eskom.co.za

JULY 2024 Electricity + Control

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