With an ageing fleet, and financial and staffing constraints, power utility Eskom is far from escaping its current crisis.
This is according to Eskom's demand management senior general manager, Andrew Etzinger. He was speaking after the power utility implemented unprecedented stage 4 rotational power cuts on Monday, and then stage 3 power cuts on Tuesday.
"The root cause of the current situation is the exceptionally hard running (in the red zone) of Eskom's power stations over more than a decade, but particularly during and in the run-up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup, to avoid load-shedding. This was due to the late decision to allow Eskom to build new plants," Etzinger said.
"This, together with financial constraints, has meant that many upgrades, known as 'mid-life refurbishment', could not be implemented on Eskom's ageing fleet. More than half the stations are more than 37 years old," Etzinger said...