Army deployed to Eskom power plants amid security threats

Read More

Following strong evidence of security threats at Eskom, members of the South African National Defence Force have been deployed to four sites.

The length of their deployment has not yet been determined and their presence will be informed by an ongoing security threat analysis, said Vincent Magwenya, the president’s spokesperson, on Sunday morning.

The deployment involves a minimum of 10 soldiers per site, Magwenya said. According to a statement released by Eskom on Saturday night, the four power stations identified for deployment are Majuba, Camden, Grootvlei and Tutuka.

The deployment comes in the same week as the announcement of André de Ruyter’s resignation as Eskom chief executive. 

On Friday, Eskom announced that load-shedding would be increased to stage six. This as ANC delegates met at Nasrec in Johannesburg for the first day of the party’s 55th national elective conference, where the country’s energy crisis — which has choked the South African economy for some 15 years — was at the top of the agenda.

In October, the Mail & Guardian reported that Eskom’s efforts to beef up security at its power stations and employ new technology to monitor its sites had purportedly proven to be futile. 

The utility has consistently complained of acts of sabotage and of criminal syndicates operating at its plants, which have struggled to keep up with the country’s energy demands.

In the most recently confirmed act of alleged sabotage, Eskom said last month that a truck driver and his supervisor from a transport company subcontracted to haul coal to the utility was arrested at the Matla power station. 

The arrests took place after the truck driver was found to be in possession of sub-grade coal destined for the facility, Eskom said. “The coal swapping allegedly took place at a known illegal coal yard in the Mpumalanga area, prior to the delivery being made at the Matla power station.”

Speaking to the Mail & Guardian on the sidelines of the ANC’s conference on Saturday, the party’s head of economic transformation, Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, said that Eskom needs to be protected against acts of sabotage.

She said De Ruyter’s resignation is an opportunity to bring in technical expertise and to build confidence in the utility.