LETTER: Fixing Eskom is about SA’s economy

Our president, who recently fired the public protector just 24 hours after a parliamentary vote was taken, has shown that when he wants to move fast, he can. 

For 15 years the government has tried to fix Eskom but has failed; time to try a new approach. This should not be about pride, the party’s reputation, vested interests or political ideological viewpoints, it should be about the country’s economy. 

Consider Eskom’s newer, worst-performing big power stations. Tutuka, constructed in 1990, generation capacity 3,654MW and performing at 27% of capacity, generating 986MW. Majuba, constructed in 2001, capacity 4,110MW and performing at 48%, generating 1,972MW. Kendal, constructed 1993, capacity 4,116MW and performing at 47%, generating 1,934MW. 

If the above power stations could produce power at 80% (an acceptable industry figure internationally) we would generate another 4,500MW for the grid.

To put it into perspective, if we had to put this down in PV panels the cost would be R80bn. That is just what they should be producing, if the power station were run properly.

The above power stations have a service life of a further 25 to 35 years, which is a long time. They should be an asset to the country’s economy. 

When selling the power stations, normal business principles can come into play. There are thousands of examples where businesses that have failed or performed poorly have been turned around by the right people.

To expect the private sector to sort out the generation problem without having access to the Eskom generation fleet, which is basically dysfunctional, is unaffordable to the economy. 

Let’s argue about the rewards of an economy, not the scraps.

Rob Tiffin
Cape Town 

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