Day: November 4, 2024

Due to load shedding being suspended for over seven months, Eskom’s diesel savings have reached R13.7 billion year-on-year.

In a statement on Friday, Eskom said load shedding has remained suspended for over seven months (219 consecutive days) since 26 March 2024.

“Investments in the Generation Recovery Plan have been instrumental in maintaining a stable power supply across South Africa, driving efficiencies, and achieving R13.7 billion in year-on-year diesel savings.

“On Monday, 28 October 2024, Eskom achieved a significant milestone in operational efficiency, moving closer to its goal of a 70% Energy Availability Factor (EAF) by end March 2025.

“This achievement is marked by a reduction in unplanned outages, which are measured by the Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) and Other Capacity Loss Factors (OCLF), to 7 299MW. The last time Eskom reached a comparable UCLF milestone was four years ago,” the power utility said.

This achievement follows Eskom’s recent milestone of delivering the longest stretch of uninterrupted power supply in five years, reaching Day 206 of loadshedding suspension on Saturday, 19 October 2024.

“The reduction in unplanned outages means that more generation capacity is available to meet the country’s electricity demand. Additionally, it provides Eskom with the necessary capacity to conduct more planned maintenance activities, which are crucial for further improving the reliability and stability of the generation fleet,” Eskom said.

Eskom’s EAF increased to an average of 65 % over the past week and 63.1% year-to-date, with top-performing stations — including Grootvlei, Camden, Medupi, Lethabo, and peaking facilities — achieving over 70% EAF.

Five other power stations recorded EAFs above 60%.

“By Monday evening, an additional 4 030MW is expected to return online, with six units on cold reserve this weekend to manage supply and demand balance,” Eskom said.

In August, Eskom shared its Summer Outlook for the period from 1 September 2024 to 31 March 2025, predicting a likely scenario of a load shedding-free summer due to structural generation improvements. This outlook remains unchanged.

Illegal connections

While load shedding remains suspended, Eskom continues to face network overloading issues in certain local areas due to illegal connections, vandalism, meter tampering, unauthorised network operations, theft of network equipment, and purchasing electricity from unlicensed vendors.

“To prevent public safety hazards and the risk of network overloading which can lead to load reduction measures and extended unplanned power outages, Eskom strongly urges customers to avoid illegal connections, as this can negatively impact the entire local community. It is also essential for customers to ensure they purchase electricity only from authorised vendors,” the power utility said.

Eskom urged the public to help protect the integrity of the power network by reporting any illegal activities to the Eskom Crime Line at 0800 112 722 or via WhatsApp at 081 333 3323.

Meter updates

In addition, as the 24 November 2024 deadline approaches, Eskom has reminded customers to update their pre-paid meters to avoid them expiring and losing electricity.

READ | Eskom calls on prepaid customers to update meters before 24 November deadline

The simple, DIY process involves buying credit tokens from authorised vendors. Customers will receive two 20-digit codes to enter into their meters for the update.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD) has advised the public that the Mpumalanga High Court will be open for business on Monday.

The Mpumalanga High Court was recently closed after an inspection by the Department of Labour and the subsequent findings that highlighted health and safety issues with the building.

On Saturday, the DOJ&CD met with the Departments of Employment and Labour (DEL), Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), Independent Development Trust (IDT) and the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) to determine a course of action in response to issues identified during a recent inspection of the Mpumalanga High Court conducted by DEL.

The prohibition notice was issued on 30 October 2024.

“Following representation made by the departments in relation to the areas identified to be addressed, it was resolved that the prohibition notice shall be suspended for a period of seven working days commencing on Monday, 04 November 2024.

“The suspension of the implementation of the prohibition notice will provide an opportunity for the department to address the issues raised in the prohibition notice,” DOJ&CD said.

The concerns raised by DEL relate to the following specific three areas:
•    Ensuring proper ventilation.
•    Provision of a report confirming the integrity of the structure.
•    Provision of the occupancy certificate.

The departments provided extensive feedback to DEL on matters relating to the prohibition notice and progress thereof.

“It is on the basis of the above that the extension was granted. The department remains committed to resolve the issues raised by DEL including ensuring the safety of staff, judiciary and members of the public.

“The discussions are still ongoing between the parties including the exchange of expert and technical reports to find a long-term solution to matters that were raised. During the suspension period, the department wishes to advise the public that the court will remain open on Monday, 04 November 2024,” DOJ&CD said.

The Standing Committee on the Auditor-General (AG) has welcomed the recovery and prevention of the R3.47 billion in financial losses by the Office of the Auditor General (AGSA) through the Material Irregularities (MIs) process.

This as the committee received a briefing from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) on its integrated annual report for the 2023/24 financial year.

“The AG has recovered R1.55 billion in financial losses; R1.14 billion in financial losses in the process of recovery and has prevented the financial loss of R0.78 billion for government departments, municipalities and entities.

“These successes show the importance of the execution of the new powers of the AG obtained through the amended Public Audit Act. In the year under review, the AG identified 626 MIs on non-compliance and suspected fraud,” the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General Wouter Wynand Wessels said on Friday.

This resulted in 500 MIs on material financial loss, 51 MIs on substantial harm to the general public, 66 MIs on substantial harm to public sector institutions and 9 MIs on misuse on material public resource.

An MI is any non-compliance with legislation, fraud, theft or breach of fiduciary duty that could result in a material financial loss, misuse of public funds or substantial harm to a public sector institution or the public.

The amended Public Audit Act introduced the concept of MIs and expanded the powers of the AG to refer the MIs to relevant bodies for investigation if the accounting officer or authority does not take appropriate action to address them.

“The committee welcomes the AGSA’s culture shift strategy. This entails plotting auditees not only according to mere compliance, but also focusing on service delivery performance.  This shows that 23% of government departments and entities and 45% of municipalities are currently doing harm, while 40% of departments and entities and 43% of municipalities are not doing the basics.

“The committee commends the AG for receiving a clean audit opinion for the year under review. A functional office of the AG is important as it results in a positive shift towards accountability and public sector performance,” Wessels said.

Limpopo Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has welcomed the life imprisonment sentence handed down by the Giyani Regional Court to a 31-year-old man for raping his 10-year-old relative.

The court heard that the victim’s mother left her daughter with her cousin whilst going to a local shop.

“The mother returned from the shop and found her daughter naked. Upon questioning her, she told her that the accused took her (daughter) to his bedroom… forcefully put his private part into her mouth and thereafter raped her.

“The matter was immediately reported to the police and a case of rape was registered and transferred to Giyani Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for further investigations,” the SAPS said on Saturday.

The case docket was allocated to Detective Sergeant Maropeng Mashapa. The accused was traced and successfully arrested.

The accused was sentenced on Thursday for raping his cousin at Phikela village in Giyani on 13 November 2020.

Subsequent to police investigations, the accused was found guilty of all charges against him and sentenced to life imprisonment for rape.

“We commend the investigating officer for tirelessly working on the case and all other role players who participated, for the job well done,” said Lieutenant General Hadebe.