Eskom’s Power Push: Battling Crime and Driving Full Capacity Operations

Eskom, South Africa’s power utility, is prioritising the goal of operating power stations at full capacity amidst allegations of widespread theft and criminal activities. Acting CEO Calib Cassim emphasised this objective during a statement on Friday.

Eskom’s recent announcement of possible Stage 8 load shedding during winter has raised concerns about the utility’s ability to maintain a stable electricity supply as reported by Eyewitness News. These concerns also highlighted the impact of crime on Eskom’s operations. Acting CEO Cassim acknowledged the existence of issues at certain power stations, specifically relating to criminal activities.

“We recognise that there are instances, particularly around the generation power stations, where criminal activities are more prevalent than others. We are addressing these matters through the security cluster,” Cassim stated.

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However, he clarified that not all power stations were affected by crime, highlighting that many of them demonstrated good performance.

In response to a claim made by former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter that the utility loses an estimated R1 billion to criminals each month, Cassim emphasised the importance of focusing on Eskom’s overall improvement.

“While addressing corruption and investigating allegations remains a priority, we must also prioritise enhancing our operations. These allegations will be dealt with through the board. However, we must not lose sight of the most crucial objective, which is to significantly improve the performance of our generation plants.”

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Photo: Twitter /@Eyewitness News