Page 11 - AfrElec Week 46 2021

AfrElec ESKOM AfrElec

Eskom fears saboteurs are at

large at power plants

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH African state-owed power utility is coincidental,” De Ruyter said, adding that a deci-
pointing figures at saboteurs for South Africa’s sion was made to send a forensic team to site to
power crisis, after suspicious incidents this week do a proper investigation.
caused breakdowns at two of its plants. The CEO said Eskom will also deploy addi-
Eskom CEO André de Ruyter confirmed that tional security to site “so that we can protect our
two suspicious incidents at Eskom’s two top-per- assets”.
forming power stations Lethabo and Matimba De Ruyter said he was not keen to point fin-
are the subject of a forensic investigation. The gers at saboteurs, but the incidents demanded a
incidents once again forced Eskom to implement closer look.
power cuts in South Africa to stabilise its power “My fundamental point of departure has
grid, because enough electricity could not be always been not to attribute to malice what can
produced to fulfil the power demand. be explained by incompetence but when you
During a briefing on November 18 De Ruyter have three simultaneous unit trips it certainly
narrated how on the evening of November 17, a does arouse suspicion.”
key electricity tower collapsed at Lethabo power He said the conveyor belt incident at the relia-
station. ble Lethabo was “a close shave”, because Lethabo
This was followed by an extension cord drop- would have run out of coal within six hours, and
ping on a transformer at the Matimba power sta- would have had to shut down. But in the early
tion, which took out three power units. hours of Thursday, Eskom managed to secure
He said both incidents are now being inves- additional power from South Africa’s Free State
tigated by independent forensic experts to con- province to save the day.
firm possible attempts of sabotage. “At around 18:00, so immediately before
Earlier this week, a team who had been work- evening peak, one of the towers collapsed in such
ing on the cooler fans at Matimba dropped an a way that it fell onto the other line, and thereby
extension cord onto the transformer of the sta- rendered both those lines inoperable,” De Ruyter
tion’s unit 2, which cause a “flash.” said. “So, again, quite an interesting incident.”
This, De Ruyter explained, apparently tripped He said it was highly suspicious that a tower
the station board and shut down all cooling to fell immediately prior to peak power demand in
units 1, 2 and 3. such a way to render both lines inoperable.™
“We have difficulty in believing this is entirely

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