Eskom crowdsources top energy experts

AS power outages persist, Eskom has officially launched a digital platform to source energy experts to help resolve the ongoing electricity crisis.

The power utility made a call two months ago for the assistance of individuals who possess mechanical, nuclear, electrical, system and maintenance skills, as well as senior artisans and plant operators for coal and nuclear power stations to register on a database.

“To date, the database includes 238 individuals, of which 153 have been shortlisted as potentially active, skilled, and willing candidates.

“Approximately 25 individuals have been selected for the first phase of the crowdsourcing intake.

“These individuals will start work between November and December,” said Eskom.

"Additional recruitment will take place as and when required by the business, to meet specific technical needs.

"To ensure sustainability and to maximise the impact of these skills, each crowdsourced individual is required to transfer skills to the permanent

Eskom team they will work with."

Eskom has been implementing stage 2 loadshedding since the beginning of the week, 'until further notice'.

Although the rolling outages aim to stabilise the power system, University of Zululand economist Dr Brian Mazorodze told the ZO recently that its impact will be felt in the long term ‘when investors have the luxury of choosing countries with stable and reliable electricity supply’.

“Eskom has a myriad challenges but key are capacity under-utilisation, mismanagement and operational inefficiencies,” he said.

While many continue to call for privatisation and bringing into the fold independent power producers with speed, Mazorodze said, although this could help the power utility eliminate inefficiencies, it could hurt consumers and small businesses.

“Rates will likely be higher because private players generally charge rates that internalise operational costs which are further compounded by the price-inelastic nature of electricity,” he said.