Growing threat at Eskom risks energy infrastructure – Presidency

The Presidency has told The Citizen there is a growing threat at Eskom’s power stations with serious concerns and risks to South Africa’s energy infrastructure.

On Saturday, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was deployed to several Eskom power stations in response to the growing threat which the Presidency said included acts of sabotage, theft, vandalism and corruption.

Threats

Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the Minister of Defence Thandi Modise responded to the request made by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan to support the ongoing activities of the security cluster.

“This is expected to ensure that we continue to respond to security-related threats and risks to South Africa’s essential energy infrastructure; coordinate all security-related operations to protect South Africa’s essential energy infrastructure through proactive crime detection.”

Magwenya said the concerns also included threats to electricity supply.

Soldiers deployed

“A minimum of 10 soldiers of the South African National Defence Force will be deployed at power generation stations, with the initial deployment to Tutuka, Camden, Majuba and Grootvlei. Further deployments will be announced in due course,” he said.

Magwenya said Eskom welcomed the support of the SANDF.

“This intervention clearly demonstrates that days of malfeasance and nefarious activities will be dealt with by the government,” he said.

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De Ruyter resignation

The deployment of the soldiers comes days after Eskom CEO André de Ruyter resigned from the top job at the utility after Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe publicly accused Eskom’s management of “agitating for the overthrow of the state”.

The ailing parastatal has been plagued by a series of criminal incidents and sabotage at its power stations across the country.

And with no end to load shedding in sight, questions continue to be raised regarding the utility’s vulnerability to criminal elements.

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