Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane has expressed joy that there have been nearly three months of no load shedding as he gives an update on progress in his 100 days in office.
This improved performance has seen a 78% diesel consumption reduction. The reduction saved Eskom R5.7-billion in the current financial year between April and May. This is compared to the same financial year in 2023.
It is in relation to the year-on-year reduction in diesel usage through open-cycle gas turbines.
“[As Eskom] we are very clear that this is not the end of it for this calendar year. We have in excess to deliver 2,000GW of new capacity. This will come from Koeberg Unit 2, and it will come from Medupi Unit 4, Kusile,” said Marokane.
Generation Operational Recovery Plan
He said the focal areas in the first 100 days were the Generation Operational Recovery Plan. Analysing progress on Eskom’s unbundling plans, and building a sustainable Eskom.
Marokane said the focus has been on tackling load shedding. But he has a vision beyond load shedding as they set Eskom up for its next version.
“We have a very good base to work on. The executive team here, before my arrival, together with my staff, already achieved significant progress in the areas of generation recovery,” said Marokane.
“As we speak today, we are on 79 days without load shedding, we have seen some phenomenal progress in as far as reduction or unplanned outages is concerned,” he added.
He said for the country to have lights on this winter, they need to save at least 14,000MW of unplanned losses. And they have saved 12,000MW that would be used in a case of high electricity demand this season.
Marokane said the next two weeks will focus on operationalising the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA).
Distribution and generation
He said the team has worked around the clock on the matter. It has also been exposed to new ideas on what needs to be improved. This as they focus attention on the distribution and generation teams, he said.
“We have undertaken to remain transparent in our journey. Our planning is always on a five year horizon with annual reviews. And we’ve committed to exchanging progress updates so that we can refine the modalities of our move towards the attainment of the target as set up,” said Marokane.
He said they looked forward to organising power systems and getting closer to the use of data analytics.
