Eskom suspends plant managers as load shedding continues

Eskom Holdings, South Africa’s state-owned power company, said it has suspended the managers of two of its biggest generating plants as the country suffers record electricity outages.

Eskom suspended the managers of the Kendal and Tutuka plants and asked the acting managers of the Kriel and Duvha plants to return to their original positions, Eskom said in a reply to queries Thursday.

“This action was taken because of sustained poor performance by these plants, which require investigation pending disciplinary action,” Eskom said.

Together the coal-fired plants account for about 14 400 megawatts of generating capacity, or about a third of Eskom’s total potential output.

Eskom on Thursday cut 4 000 megawatts from grid for much of the day and plans to reduce power availability by 3 000 megawatts on Friday as a result of a number of breakdowns at its plants.

Read: Eskom warns power cuts could worsen

Bloomberg earlier reported that three plant managers had been suspended, citing people familiar with the situation.

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