Friday, 14 June 2024: Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane shared an update on the progress achieved during his first 100 days in office. His report detailed strides towards addressing Eskom’s business challenges and positioning the utility for future growth and sustainability.
Key Focus Areas
The first 100 days focused on:
- Assessing the Generation Operational Recovery Plan: Evaluating the plan’s effectiveness.
- Reviewing Unbundling Progress: Tracking the progress of Eskom’s division into separate entities.
- Engaging Stakeholders: Collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to build alignment and set strategic directions.
Marokane emphasized building blocks for creating a competitive and sustainable Eskom.
Generation Performance Improvements
Eskom has achieved nearly 80 days without load shedding, with unplanned outages consistently around 12GW, significantly below the winter planning assumption of 15.5GW.
- Operational Efficiency: The performance results from a multi-dimensional program involving human resources, aggressive maintenance, use of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and implementing interventions based on VGBE findings.
- Financial Impact: Improved performance led to a year-on-year reduction in diesel usage for Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs), saving over R4 billion in the current financial year.
“Eskom’s executives and employees have helped deliver these significant results to date, and we have a good base to build on. I have also noticed a significant improvement in morale,” Marokane stated.
Unbundling Progress
Eskom’s plans to operationalize the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) by July 1, 2024, are on track, following the fulfillment of suspensive conditions in March 2024.
- Lessons and Augmentation: Eskom is incorporating lessons learned from the unbundling process and augmenting internal resources with external support to drive efficiencies.
- International Alignment: The unbundling process aligns with international trends, aiming for a faster execution of the program.
Stakeholder Engagement
Marokane’s engagement included addressing over 10,000 employees—about a quarter of the workforce—and engaging with over 200 stakeholders in government, business, labor, OEMs, and financial institutions.
Strategic Initiatives
Over the next 36 months, Eskom will pursue several key initiatives:
- Increase Energy Availability Factor (EAF): Targeting 70% EAF within the next 12 to 36 months.
- Boost Capacity: Adding more than 2.5GW to the grid by March 2025 and developing at least 2GW of clean energy projects by 2026.
- Improve Efficiency: Re-baselining cost trajectory and enhancing efficiencies.
- Address Municipality Debt: Advocating for sustainable solutions on municipal debt.
- Unbundle Operations: Continuing the unbundling of the Distribution and Generation divisions.
- Enable Just Energy Transition: Accelerating initiatives for a fair energy transition.
“We are putting the building blocks in place to rebuild trust and credibility in Eskom through transparent performance, with the intent to re-affirm the company as worthy of further future investment as we undertake our strategic initiatives. It is our intention to remain a critical player in South Africa’s evolving future energy market,” Marokane continued.
Future Focus
Eskom remains committed to:
- Generation Recovery: Continuing efforts to stabilize and enhance generation performance.
- Strengthening Governance: Tackling crime and corruption.
- Future-Proofing: Ensuring long-term sustainability and energy security for South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.
