Eskom+doing+an+Enron+on+SA,+Andre+Becker,+Letters,+B+Day



=Is Eskom doing an Enron on SA?=

I had a very troubling conversation with a relatively senior executive of Eskom recently, who told me there was no shortage of electrical supply at present, but an executive decision had been made at Eskom to contain supply to the minimum from January 14.
 * Andre Becker, Letters, Business Day, Johannesburg, 31 January 2008**

According to the executive, the Eskom execs were tired of fighting with the government about tariff increases and the funding of expansion and had decided to teach it a lesson and withdraw a percentage of the supply from the market.

Apparently, the lower than requested tariff increases combined with the funding costs of new facilities would have a severely negative effect on executive bonuses in the future, and this was regarded as unacceptable. I would like to clarify that this individual was not a disaffected white, but a senior manager of colour. He explained that in the past, executive bonuses were based on the amounts saved against budget, which led to a severe lack of maintenance and lack of skills. Any demands from the government to address these issues would have a negative effect on Eskom’s margins.

He expressed amazement that the public, and in particular the press, had not taken issue with the fact that the load-shedding started on January 14, when most businesses returned from leave, while there was no supply problem before the year-end holidays. He felt it was interesting that some facts seemed to be coming to light on programmes such as Carte Blanche, but the obvious questions were not being asked.

If this is true, then the Eskom executives’ actions amount to sabotage. As disturbing as these comments may be, I am reminded of the actions that Enron took in the US to increase energy demand and therefore prices.

I am not sure if this could be verified, but surely this could be devastating information?

Andre Becker Springs


 * From: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/opinion.aspx?ID=BD4A695551**

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