Treasury director-general has a duty to make public independent assessment of overstaffed and graft-ridden Eskom
22 November 2023 - 16:31
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The taxpayers of SA paid for the independent assessment of Eskom power stations, which was delivered many months ago to new Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse.
Eskom is presently bleeding money, and corruption is estimated to be running at about R2bn a month. Yet, according to public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan, there has been no progress in the investigation or arrest of any of the ringleaders.
Arnot power station has an availability rate of just 45%, whereas world class is 85%. That means everyone is functioning at 45% productivity.
In 2003, Eskom generated about 39,000MW with 31,000 employees, and when over the next decade-and-a-half it hired another 17,000 employees generation actually fell.
According to Singh & Fehrs’ 2001 analysis of US energy information administration data, the average coal-fired power plant employed 0.18 people in operations and maintenance on a permanent basis per megawatt of peak capacity. The average 300MW coal-fired power plant would therefore employ 54 people in operation & maintenance on an ongoing basis.
On that basis, with 39,000MW Eskom should need 7,100 people to run the coal-operated fleet, and a further 600 at the Koeberg nuclear plant. That’s 7,700 people in total.
American Electric Power utility produces about the same power as Eskom (38,000MW) with a total of 16,000 employees, and that includes 63,000km of transmission lines. Clearly, apart from the documented corruption, there are huge inefficiencies that need addressing.
Pieterse is employed by the state to look after the fiscus on behalf of taxpayers and citizens. His duty is to release that report to the country.
Rob Tiffin Cape Town
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Release taxpayer-funded Eskom report
Treasury director-general has a duty to make public independent assessment of overstaffed and graft-ridden Eskom
The taxpayers of SA paid for the independent assessment of Eskom power stations, which was delivered many months ago to new Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse.
Eskom is presently bleeding money, and corruption is estimated to be running at about R2bn a month. Yet, according to public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan, there has been no progress in the investigation or arrest of any of the ringleaders.
Arnot power station has an availability rate of just 45%, whereas world class is 85%. That means everyone is functioning at 45% productivity.
In 2003, Eskom generated about 39,000MW with 31,000 employees, and when over the next decade-and-a-half it hired another 17,000 employees generation actually fell.
According to Singh & Fehrs’ 2001 analysis of US energy information administration data, the average coal-fired power plant employed 0.18 people in operations and maintenance on a permanent basis per megawatt of peak capacity. The average 300MW coal-fired power plant would therefore employ 54 people in operation & maintenance on an ongoing basis.
On that basis, with 39,000MW Eskom should need 7,100 people to run the coal-operated fleet, and a further 600 at the Koeberg nuclear plant. That’s 7,700 people in total.
American Electric Power utility produces about the same power as Eskom (38,000MW) with a total of 16,000 employees, and that includes 63,000km of transmission lines. Clearly, apart from the documented corruption, there are huge inefficiencies that need addressing.
Pieterse is employed by the state to look after the fiscus on behalf of taxpayers and citizens. His duty is to release that report to the country.
Rob Tiffin
Cape Town
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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