Bright spark acting CEO keeps the lights on

ESKOM chairman Ben Ngubane said the absence of load shedding over the past two weeks was due in large measure to the inspirational leadership of acting CEO Brian Molefe, who had established close relationships with power station managers and brought new synergies to the company.

The end of the industrial dispute at Medupi had enabled the first 800MW from the plant to flow into the grid, while the full return to service of Koeberg after maintenance had increased capacity significantly. But it was Mr Molefe “who has changed the whole vibe and morale” among employees, in so doing, making a significant difference, he said.

Key among the changes was Mr Molefe and his top executives visiting power stations every Friday to interact with managers and solve problems. Another key change was the “synergy” that now existed between the maintenance programme and the Eskom national control room, which manages grid supply and demand. Through better co-ordination, managers of the grid were better able to anticipate changes in supply when units underwent maintenance.

While previous CEOs had fallen into the trap of deferring maintenance to keep the lights on, Dr Ngubane said the recent absence of load shedding did not mean maintenance was not being done.

“We are doing maintenance; there is a programme. But we have a balance so that we are able to tell the national control room a day before and, therefore, they can scale themselves.”

Eskom’s capacity would further increase next year when the 3,000MW Ingula pumped storage scheme came on stream.

“As we move along this trajectory, we hope to make load shedding a thing of the past,” he said.

The power from Ingula would improve Eskom’s finances as it would no longer be necessary to run the diesel-fired open-cycle gas turbines. Diesel costs had forced Eskom to overspend by billions.

The Eskom board petitioned Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown to appoint Mr Molefe and would probably recommend his permanent appointment. It would be up to Ms Brown and the Cabinet to confirm his appointment.

Other vacancies would also be filled, said Dr Ngubane, including a new head of group capital, following the resignation of Dan Marokane last week. CEO Tshediso Matona resigned in the middle of last month.

Finance director Tsholofelo Molefe and head of technology and commercial Matshela Koko remain on suspension during the “investigation” into Eskom’s contracting and expenditure. Neither has been implicated in wrongdoing.