Overview of Maintenance
& Infrastructure Delivery
of Eskom
Eng Logan Pillay
2015/04/13
Eskom Academy of Learning
1
AFRICAN PROVERB
THE BEST TIME TO
PLANT A TREE IS 20
YEARS AGO, THE
SECOND BEST TIME
IS NOW !!!!
2015/04/13
2
Overview
• Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF) measured by the time a generator had
spent out of service owing to plant failure
• UCLF increased from 5.1 % in 2010 to 11 % in 2014 as a result of a delay in
maintenance by Eskom
• Out of 87 coal-fired generating units, 32 require major ‘Surgery’ and 4 are in a
critical condition
• Medupi is scheduled to be synchronised to the grid on 24 December 2014
• This additional capacity will not be fully leveraged if the condition of existing power
plants continue to decline
How Eskom is Dealing with Maintenance
Challenges
•
Eskom has decided that we cannot put off maintenance any longer and asked
industrial clients to cut back on consumption to accommodate maintenance
• This strategy yielded good results with ‘Tightly forged’ relationship with 140 large
customers
• Eskom’s ‘Winter plan’ where industrial customers curtail their energy demand to
enable maintenance activities, yielded good results
• Turbine and Generator maintenance and refurbishment done by Rotek
Engineering (Part of Eskom), this can be done without contracts etc
• Rotek is a strategic asset for Eskom, no costly transportation overseas
• Eskom has a better handle on system after managing to deal with some
opportunity maintenance over South Africa’s winter months, reducing partial
losses from an excess of 3500 MW to 1500 MW
How Eskom is Dealing with Infrastructure
Development Challenges
•
Medupi and Kusile when fully commissioned will deliver 2X4800 MW onto the
grid
• Labour disruptions both at Medupi and in July 2014 at Kusile by civil contractors,
disciplinary action is being taken
• Full workforce is now on site at Kusile and Eskom transferred additional resources
into project, planned synchronisation of first unit is 2016
• A commercial strategy has been defined to increase contractors resources and
improve their performance
• Boiler contractor improved boiler construction progress from 0.48 % a week in
March to 0.74 % a week in September, further improvement is required to achieve
the target date (This is being addressed)
How Eskom is Dealing with Infrastructure
Development Challenges
•
Eskom is working with Control and Instrumentation (C&I) contractor to ensure it
supported the target synchronisation date and had implemented ‘Additional
measures’ to migrate the schedule and risk
• Eskom is simultaneously developing 60 grid – strengthening projects to bolster
and upgrade it’s national transmission network
• All of these designs for new Transmission and Substations are being done in-
house
• Eskom is also documenting the design philosophy under a series of technical
books named the ‘Eskom Power Series’
• Training courses are also developed based on these books
Eskom Power Series
•
Knowledge capture and retention is a concern in the industry, there is a gap
between experienced engineers and young graduates
• Eskom pioneered a strategy to capture this know how and make it accessible to
young graduates, consulting companies, Universities and Universities of
technology – ‘Open source Engineering’
• 12 technical books have been produced and is sold internationally bringing
R1million revenue into Eskom but also assisting to build a local industry for the
Power industry
• Titles include overhead line design, Insulators, Transformers, Instrument
Transformers, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC), Corona, Thermodynamics,
Engineering Calculations for wind and concentrated solar thermal
• Non technical books are also being produced such as Mentorship and Coaching,
Winning with People, and a Procurement Book ( South Africa’s biggest challenge)
AFRICAN PROVERB
IF YOU WANT TO GO FAST
GO ALONE
IF YOU WANT TO GO FAR
GO TOGETHER
8
Live work methods - Stick
Barehand method
Bare hand method-Air mobile
Gloving work in a substation
Proposed Model
Government
State Owned
Enterprises
CESA
Concluding Remarks
• Eskom cannot solve South Africa’s challenges alone, strong partnerships are
required between Government, State owned enterprises and private sector
• Long Term Planning is crucial for development of the Country
• Turn ‘Strategies’ into ‘Dreams’
14
Comments / Questions