ERMELO – An Eskom contractor at Camden Power Station has been arrested for allegedly trying to sabotage Unit 4 of the plant on November 15.
The incident occurred on November 10 at about 16:54 and a case of sabotage was opened at the Ermelo police station.
“The perpetrator, who is employed by a maintenance company working at the power station, intentionally removed the bearing oil drain plug from the bearing causing the oil burner to trip repeatedly,” the company said in a statement.
“This malicious act caused all the oil to drain out from the bearing, thus damaging the bearing, which, in turn, prevented the mills from operating optimally. Camden unit 4 subsequently tripped after losing all the mills.”
After internal investigation the culprit was identified and the company said the suspect was questioned about the incident and he confessed to the sabotage.
The investigation along with the confession revealed the plug was intentionally removed to cause the unit to trip.
“This act of sabotage would ensure that his employer was awarded additional maintenance and repair jobs at the power station.”
Advocate Karen Pillay, General Manager for security at Eskom, said it is disheartening to find some contractors are unscrupulous and have malicious intent, who are willing to plinge the country into further load shedding, at a time when the electricity grid is already strained.
“We have always suspected that some of our maintenance contractors and employees are behind these acts of sabotage, and we shall continue to work with the law enforcement to bring these insiders to book” she said.
Eskom urged the public to report any tampering and sabotage acts to the Eskom Crime Line on 080 011 2722.
