Share

Eskom’s new strategy to be finalised in February

accreditation
Eskom chief executive Phakamani Hadebe. Picture: Alaister Russell/BusinessDay/Gallo Images/File
Eskom chief executive Phakamani Hadebe. Picture: Alaister Russell/BusinessDay/Gallo Images/File

Struggling state power firm Eskom will finalise its new strategy in February, its chief executive Phakamani Hadebe told Parliament on Wednesday.

Cash-strapped Eskom is battling to emerge from a period of steep financial decline, during which its debts have ballooned while its electricity sales have fallen.

It implemented controlled power outages this year for the first time since 2015.

The new strategy will assess whether its current business model is sustainable, or whether it should be broken up into separate entities overseeing power generation, distribution and transmission.

In September, Eskom delayed the date at which its strategy would be submitted to its board.

Eskom’s power stations hit historically low levels of performance this month and load shedding during summer is almost a certainty.

In the past week, only 66% of Eskom’s capacity was being used, according to the company’s weekly status update.

Maintenance backlogs are being compounded by a coal shortage crisis. Ten power stations have critically low coal stockpiles, while five of these have less than 10 days’ worth of fuel at hand, Eskom separately announced on Friday at its quarterly system update briefing.

Eskom is budgeting on spending almost R600 million on diesel generators between now and the end of March – that excludes the additional use of the ludicrously expensive diesel peaking plants if there is more rain than expected.

Last week, the power utility unveiled a “nine-point plan” to address the next looming power crisis.

The key long-term solution was to reverse former Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe’s 2016 decision to discontinue so-called cost-plus mines attached to Eskom stations and where Eskom contributes to the capital expenditure.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you believe that the various planned marches against load shedding will prompt government to bring solutions and resolve the power crisis?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes
20% - 103 votes
No
80% - 403 votes
Vote