Eskom teamwork improves Matla power station’s output

Maserati Lesolang and her team at Matla Power Station on the Mpumalanga Highveld are one of the reasons that the light at the end of the Eskom load shedding tunnel has been glowing brighter.

Matla is one of the power stations that has shown a marked improvement in its energy availability factor (EAF), which has bolstered the overall national power supply.

That meant load shedding has been suspended for more than 150 days.

Eskom’s turnaround strategy does trick

Other power plants that have shown improvements are Kriel, Thuthukani, Majuba, Duvha and Kusile.

Lesolang, the general manager of Matla, said the station’s EAF had improved from 50% to 69%, following Eskom’s March implementation of a “turnaround” strategy across the corporation’s production arm.

Matla was one of those poor-performing power stations, but it managed to improve its production capacity. Lesolang said Matla was almost at its target EAF of 70%.

Although that was good news, energy expert Ruse Moleshe said more still needs to be done to sustain the good performance.

Matla has taken the turnaround process seriously, especially from a management point of view, which makes sure that the critical vacancies are filled, especially that of the plant manager, Moleshe said.

The strategy was showing improvement not only in production, but also in financial controls.

Thanda Sithole, a senior economist from FNB, said: “The easing of energy constraints that we have experienced so far has been good for the economy.

“That we are gradually removing the constraint of load shedding from economic activities is a good thing that will result in economic growth,” Sithole said.

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Success attributed to team cohesion

Lesolang attributed the success to the cohesion displayed by her team during the hard times.

“When trying to implement the turnaround strategy, there were times where we found ourselves pointing fingers at one another, but we realised that we needed to support each other and hold each other accountable so that we can achieve the common goal: implementing the turnaround strategy.

“We have implemented a culture of ownership with every employee feeling they must contribute to the success of the plant.”

Lesolang said they managed to fill vital vacancies in the supply chain and finance and employed more technically oriented employees to deal with machinery breakdowns that negatively affect the plant’s output.

“I would like to comment on the support from the entire team and the management, especially the department of mineral resources and energy.

“Though we have managed to do well, we are continuing to work hard and keep on improving,” said Lesolang.

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Spokesperson welcomes improvement

Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena has welcomed Matla’s improvement, saying all six power stations that were included in the “turnaround strategy were improving speedily”.

She said the identified power stations were doing well in terms of increased production and that contributed to the suspension of blackouts for more than 150 days.

Rebecca Maoko, a senior controller in Matla power station’s control room, said the hard work paid off as the station has improved. It is one of the stations that contributed to the fight against load shedding, she said.

“Yes, our performance is improving and I’m glad that the whole team is motivated and trying to do everything precisely and following goals and procedures to make sure that everything goes well.

“Since I started here more than 20 years ago, things have improved and we have many ladies and young stars as unit controllers now.”