Page 7 - AfrElec Week 33

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

and FDS. In either case, they might have to Risk and reward
revise their work schedule, which has already These considerations are not likely to derail
been affected by incidents such as the coronavi- the project – or discourage investors in other
rus (COVID-19) outbreak that hit Total’s work ongoing Mozambican LNG schemes. As Ed
camp earlier this year. Hobey-Hamsher, Verisk Maplecroft’s senior
Additionally, the investors may have to Africa analyst, told Africa Oil Week in late July,
review security arrangements in order to protect the security risks are not high enough to out-
the employees and prevent disruption to the pro- weigh the potential for profit.
ject. They have already established robust secu- Nevertheless, they could force Total and
rity protocols for the plant, but they may want to other IOCs to postpone work on their projects.
start providing more protection for employees Moreover, the delays might turn out to be longer
and contractors who are away from the work site. than expected if conflict between ASWJ and FDS
The rebels have already staged attacks on grinds on – or if it escalates. And it may indeed
Mozambique LNG’s contractors. In the most escalate. “The complicity of state officials in
recent incident, eight employees of Fenix Con- criminal activities in Mozambique increases the
struction, a local company that has contributed likelihood that the ASWJ will eventually secure
to the project, died after gunmen ambushed one the weapons necessary for attacks on onshore
of its vehicles near Mocimboa da Praia. LNG sites,” Hobey-Hamsher said. ™

ESKOM
Eskom makes boardroom

changes as power cuts return

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH Africa’s Eskom has sacked some key of bankrupt retailer Edcon Holdings, was
managers after the company failed to meet its appointed as treasurer in May and Caroline
targets for reducing power cuts during the cur- Henry has been made chairwoman of the Eskom
rent winter. Pension and Provident Fund.
The reshuffle comes as the company again Eskom had originally set a target of only three
imposed loashedding this week, as large coal- days of power cuts, known as loashedding in
fired generating plants were taken offline for South Africa, in August.
maintenance just as cold winter weather arrived. However, the actual number has been far
The company has moved the current head higher. Last week, Eskom had to implement
of generation, Bheki Nxumalo, sideways to the Stage 2 loashedding on August 13, although it
position of group executive overseeing new managed to bring three generating units back
projects. online on August 14.
He is to be replaced as acting head of gener- However, on August 15, the company said
ation by Rhulani Mathebula, who is currently that eight generating units were offline. Eskom
Eskom’s head of Cluster 2 of power plants, said that its systems would be “severely con-
Eskom spokesman Sikonathi Mantshantsha said strained” all week, and urged South Africans to
this week, Bloomberg reported. use power sparingly.
Meanwhile, Daniel Mashigo has been moved Meanwhile, Eskom imposed Stage 2 loashed-
from the post of general manager of primary ding on August 18 and August 19, meaning that
energy to take over Mathebula’s role as head of unplanned breakdowns stand at more than
Eskom’s Cluster 2 of power plants. 11,900MW of capacity, adding to the 4,350MW
What this means is that the post of the gen- currently out on planned maintenance.
eral manager of primary energy will now be “Yesterday [Monday 17 August], six genera-
advertised. tors were returned to service at Medupi, Tutuka,
The changes were announced in an internal Kendal, Majuba and Grootvlei power stations.
statement from chief operating officer Jan Ober- The breakdown of four units overnight and
holzer, according to Bloomberg. this morning at Medupi, Duvha, Majuba and
In total, a total of 12 changes at executive level Lethabo power stations, as well as a delay in the
were made, Business Day newspaper. expected return to service of a unit at Medupi,
CEO Andre de Ruyter has made a number has resulted in the power system being con-
of changes and appointments in 2020. Rich- strained,” Eskom said in a statement.™Body
ard Vaughan, the former chief financial officer first par. ™

Week 33 20•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7