Eskom: summary of latest developments

Eskom’s former CEO Andre de Ruyter has agreed to appear before MPs to provide information on corruption at the company, according to parliament.

De Ruyter responded to an urgent invite from the standing committee on public accounts to give more detail about the allegations that connected top government officials to graft that he made in a television interview last month. He then exited the post weeks before the end of his notice period after he resigned in December.

The former CEO will respond in writing on the issues he’s raised and “is agreeable to appearing” before the committee at a date to be determined, it said.    

Concern over Koeberg delay

A delay in completing maintenance at Eskom’s sole nuclear power plant is worrying as South Africa heads into winter, when electricity demand increases, according to Alan Winde, premier of the Western Cape. 

Work on the Koeberg plant north of Cape Town has stalled and is running weeks late, adding to energy shortages that have led to daily power cuts to protect the system from a complete blackout. “We can’t be behind now,” Winde said. “We’ve got to be on time, on budget.”

The premier last weekend met electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who mentioned a foreign investor has expressed interest in establishing a 3,000MW gas-fired plant in the Western Cape. The proposal is still at an early stage and, if it goes ahead, fuel could possibly be brought to the site via a pipeline from Saldanha Bay, 155km (97 north of Cape Town, Winde said.

Eskom employee kidnapped, assaulted

Seven assailants fired multiple shots at an Eskom employee’s car on March 16 and abducted him, the utility said. The employee was later released south of Johannesburg and admitted to hospital for treatment. The police are investigating the incident. 

Juwi to start developing 1GW of projects in 2023

Juwi GmbH, a German renewable energy plant developer, plans to start constructing 1,000MW of wind, solar and so-called hybrid power plants in South Africa this year. 

The projects add to more than 1,500MW of wind power, 2,000MW of solar energy and 500MW of hybrid plants the unit of MVV Energie AG is developing in the country, Juwi said. 

Labour union disputes minister’s claims on corruption

The biggest labour union at Eskom disputed a claim by Ramokgopa that the utility’s underperformance isn’t related to widespread corruption.

“We are categorically and emphatically disagreeing with the minister’s version that corruption in Eskom does not play any role” in persistent electricity shortages, the National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa said.

The union alleged plant breakdowns can be attributed to the use of low-quality parts purchased at inflated prices with the help of some Eskom employees.

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