Loadshedding in October does not instill confidence in Eskom

Whilst we understand the hangover from previous leadership, the excuses of malfunctioning boilers and conveyer belts amongst other matters will fall on deaf ears, especially with the massive increases in electricity tariffs thrust on the consumer over the past decade.  

This is the utility that ran up R450-billion in debt then expected taxpayers to bail it out.

“We cannot accept the constant overspending on new power stations and have Eskom fail to explain why they can’t keep them running,” says Heinrich Volmink, OUTA’s Executive Director on Policy.

“Eskom’s slow pace of addressing the high costs of coal procurement and excessive manpower costs are a frustration to taxpayers, who have positioned Eskom as a burden that lacks the necessary expertise to keep the power on,” says Wayne Duvenage, OUTA’s CEO.

Additional aspects such as 100 out of 121 executives refusing to submit themselves to security vetting by the State Security Agency merely adds fuel to the people’s frustration fire, as does the fact that Eskom is going to court to demand that electricity prices must rise even more than they already have.