By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Energy and Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has acknowledged serious performance setbacks at the Kendal Power Station in Ogies, Mpumalanga.
Ramokgopa and Eskom CEO Dan Marokane visited the Kendal Power Station amid operational challenges and performance issues.
Eskom is battling declining energy availability across its fleet, with Kendal’s performance deteriorating from 81% to 52% over the past 10 months.
Ramokgopa attributed Kendal’s decline to infrastructure issues, particularly the need for investment in its milling and water treatment plants.
He stressed that while the technical team had been aware of these problems, procurement delays had hindered timely interventions.
He said, as the minister, I will work with the minister of finance to address these issues and accelerate the process.
He also acknowledged that the procurement challenges were not unique to Kendal but affected Eskom’s entire power generation units.
Government was exploring ways to streamline processes and ensure that critical maintenance work is not delayed by bureaucratic hurdles.
Load shedding remained a pressing concern, with Ramokgopa confirming that failures at power stations had directly contributed to the recent rolling blackouts. He expressed confidence that strengthening Eskom’s operational resilience would help the grid absorb multiple unit failures without triggering load shedding.
Marokane reaffirmed Eskom’s commitment to restoring reliability, comparing the current interventions to a “half-time team talk” where an organisation reassessed its strategy to improve results.
“When we implement plans and see results we don’t like, we must return to the drawing board and make necessary course corrections,” he said.
Marokane emphasised the importance of engaging Eskom staff to ensure collective responsibility for performance improvements. He acknowledged disappointment over the Kendall setbacks but remained resolute in achieving Eskom’s long-term stability goals.
Eskom said its Summer Outlook, published on 26 August 2024, remains unchanged, with its winter outlook set to be published later this month.
Ramokgopa is expected to visit other underperforming power stations to ensure reliability and stability in energy supply.