Saboteur contractor arrested at Eskom’s Camden Power Station

Eskom says a contractor working at the Camden Power Station has been arrested after he was linked to an incident of sabotage which resulted in unit 4 at the facility tripping.

The saboteur was handcuffed on Tuesday following investigations by Eskom’s onsite teams, the parastatal said.

Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said the perpetrator was employed by a maintenance company working at the power station.

Malicious intent

“He intentionally removed the bearing oil drain plug from the bearing, causing the oil burners to trip repeatedly. This malicious act caused all the oil to drain out of 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. The incident occurred on Thursday 10 November 2022 at approximately 16:54. A case of alleged sabotage was immediately opened for investigation at the Ermelo Police Station,” Mantshantsha said.

ALSO READ: Does Eskom really share South Africans’ pain of load shedding?

Sabotage

Mantshantsha said the suspect admitted to sabotage.

“The evidence obtained and the confession made by the perpetrator revealed the plug was intentionally removed to cause the trip. This act of sabotage would ensure that his employer is awarded additional maintenance and repair jobs at the power station.”

Suspicion

Advocate Karen Pillay, general manager for security at Eskom, said it is disheartening to find that some of Eskom’s contractors have malicious intent and are willing to plunge the country into further load shedding at a time when the electricity grid is highly constrained.

“We have always suspected that some of our maintenance contractors and employees are behind these acts of sabotage.”

“We shall continuously work with the law enforcement agencies to bring these insiders to book and ensure that justice is meted out, but most importantly that those with similar tendencies across Eskom are arrested and removed from the organisation,” said Pillay.

Eskom said the arrest, along with two last week after contractor truck drivers were nabbed while in possession of stolen coal, are the result of persistent collaboration by the Eskom security team and police to identify and disrupt the criminal networks.

Load shedding

Meanwhile, Mantshantsha said stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 4pm until 5am on Wednesday and thereafter stage 2 power cuts from 5am until 4pm on Thursday.

“This cycle will be repeated until further notice,” Mantshantsha said.

ALSO READ: City of Joburg to ditch Eskom to keep the lights on