A proposal to forge a partnership with power utility Eskom to assist Nelson Mandela Bay with its electricity challenges was rejected during a closed mayoral committee meeting on Tuesday.
The report by corporate services executive director Nosipho Xhego said the partnership was aimed at addressing inefficiencies that undermined the electricity and energy directorate’s ability to deliver reliable services to the metro.
One of the department’s main challenges is a high volume of unresolved complaints that surpass 3,281 that are primarily related to frequent and unplanned power outages.
Speaking on Wednesday, electricity and energy political head Ziyanda Mnqokoyi said the proposal was rejected due to a misunderstanding about Eskom’s involvement among the members.
“People were under the impression that we will be outsourcing work to Eskom while there are employed people to do those duties and this is not the case.
“This partnership is to strengthen the already existing work we are doing with Eskom because we do rope in the entity from time to time to assist us with some work.
“With this partnership, Eskom will prioritise us when we call for assistance and like they’re already doing, they will work with our staff and existing contractors to conduct the work as required,” Mnqokoyi said.
According to the report, the outages stem from ageing infrastructure, inadequate maintenance and increasing load demands.
They sought to enter into a partnership and support programme with the power utility to leverage its expertise and resources to address both technical and non-technical issues, improve service delivery and reduce losses.
The report states a key factor contributing to the problem of unplanned outages is the lack of regular, preventive maintenance, resulting in a reactive approach to repairs that not only exacerbates system failures but also escalates emergency repair costs.
“There are also significant gaps in filling permanent management and operational positions, leading to over-reliance on acting appointments,” it says.
“This reliance has resulted in increased overtime, operational instability and unclear decision-making authority.
“Additional to these operational issues, internal divisions among the staff of the directorate, alleged fraud and corruption that is currently under investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), are severely affecting service delivery.
“For example, the lead times to fix street lights and attend to electricity outages is seriously compromised.”
Further compounding these problems experienced in the directorate is the absence of enforcement of serious consequence management and accountability for wrongdoing.
“This lack of accountability fosters a culture of impunity, which demoralises committed staff members and erodes trust within the organisation.
“We have also witnessed a number of employees arrested on criminal charges related to intentionally damaging electrical infrastructure like substations which are critical to the supply of electricity in the metro,” the report says.
Eskom offers a comprehensive suite of services required by the metro such as:
- Technical skills development asset management: energy losses management, pricing and tariff structure;
- Maintenance and operations: contract management,
- geographic information system (GIS) capabilities and billing;
- Quality assurance: procurement services and meter audits;
- Project management: access to suppliers, smart metering and vendor management;
- Demand side management: investment, network and master planning, revenue management and collection;
- Business: life cycle management, cost-effective procurement and asset management;
- Network: technology and planning;
- Financial: system and operations.
By partnering with Eskom, the report states, the city would stabilise its electricity supply by introducing better-maintenance practices, reducing power outages, and implement advanced metering technology to curb non-technical losses.
The municipality has previously partnered with Eskom, the most recent incident being the collapse of the 132kV high voltage transmission towers on the western side of Gqeberha which resulted in 14 communities being left without electricity for nearly a week.
The collapse of the pylons also caused an unprecedented power outage at the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport as well as the Walmer police station.
HeraldLIVE
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