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Johannesburg - Power utility Eskom cannot build new power plants if old ones are not properly maintained, senior general manager Andrew Etzinger said on Thursday.
"Building new power plants doesn't help. We can't defer maintenance, it does mean on an odd day we will be vulnerable, but we have to bite the bullet and get the power plants back in order," he said at the Powering African Industry conference at Nasrec in Soweto.
Etzinger said in past years Eskom has not had the "window" to carry out the maintenance the power plants require, which has caused a backlog.
The winter maintenance plan went well and yielded the desired results.
Eskom has a better handle on the system, said Etzinger. The way Eskom manages the power grid is critical.
"Partnership is vital. We need to nurture that relationship."
Etzinger said "prosumers" and not consumers are needed as part of the partnership. The word prosumer is a contraction of producer and consumer.
"Work together with Eskom to keep the grid stable."
Eskom is not there to make money, but to supply electricity.
'We are not here to make money'
"We provide electricity to our customers, we are not here to make money. We do need to be financially sustainable, but our mandate is to power the economy and society, not to make money."
Eskom, which is about 90 years old, supplies electricity to 95% of South Africa.
With 97 days to go before the Medupi power station's unit six is powered up, he said the power station looks "fantastic". The coal-fired power station, the first power station to be built by Eskom in 20 years, is being built near Lephalale in Limpopo.
Unit six of the power station, which has faced numerous delays in its construction, is expected to be synchronised at midday on December 24.
Synchronisation, or first power, involves the generator being connected to the power grid, so that its power is aligned with all other generators delivering electricity into the grid. It will take several months for the unit to reach full and stable power.
