ANTON EBERHARD|
Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned power utility, is facing a litany of challenges. The Conversation Africa asked Professor Anton Eberhard, director of the Power Futures Lab at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, to pose questions to the power utility’s CEO, André de Ruyter.
Anton Eberhard: The performance and availability of Eskom’s power stations has declined from above 90% in the early 2000s to an average of 64% in the 2021 financial year. Is this long-term, historical trend inevitable as Eskom’s kit ages? Obviously, Eskom should do all it can to improve operations, but what is a realistic expectation of future performance? Will we see energy availability factors above 75% again, or will average power plant availability now remain in the 60s%?
André de Ruyter: Eskom’s fleet of coal fired power stations, excluding Medupi and Kusile, are on average 41 years old. These power stations
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