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Eskom, which supplies more than 80% of South Africa’s electricity, is sharpening its security to better shield the national grid and key infrastructure from acts of sabotage and theft that risk plunging the country into darkness.The national power grid is an interconnected network that supplies electricity countrywide and is physically managed by the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA), a subsidiary of Eskom.Not content with reactive security measures, the power utility is looking to infuse an element of investigative capability to clamp down on criminality and has asked private sector players to put forward proposals to provide it with tactical response operations, security business intelligence, investigative services and integrated security systems and technology.Eskom, which has now managed to keep the lights on for more than 400 consecutive days, is looking to deploy these services at its critical infrastructure sites, including the central grid, regional grids across the country and telecommunications radio sites. The sites include national key points. “These sites are of strategic importance to South Africa’s national electricity grid. The tender aims to enhance security outcomes through a comprehensive turnkey solution that integrates advanced technology, tactical response operations, security business intelligence, investigative services, integrated security systems and technologies, and measurable performance metrics,” Eskom says in its tender document.“This integrated approach is designed to safeguard critical infrastructure, ensure operational continuity, and support national energy resilience.”Sabotage at Eskom, orchestrated by criminal cartels, disgruntled employees and unscrupulous maintenance contractors, has plagued South Africa’s power grid for years. These sites are of strategic importance to South Africa’s national electricity grid.— EskomThese deliberate attacks on power stations and transmission lines are executed to force equipment failures, disrupt supply chains and secure lucrative repair or trucking contracts.Eskom now aims to take the initiative and actively participate in dismantling the criminal syndicates looking to profit from the sabotage and theft of its key infrastructure, which is indispensable in powering Africa’s most industrialised and largest economy.Eskom’s tender document states that it wants to address persistent and escalating threats posed by criminal activity, socioeconomic instability and political volatility. It said specific risks include cable theft, equipment sabotage, land invasion and malicious damage to property. “The objective is to proactively mitigate these risks through specialised tactical response services, security business intelligence and investigations, technology-driven surveillance, rapid response capabilities and community engagement,” the document reads.The business intelligence that Eskom is looking to equip itself with includes researching and investigating the metal market and recycling industry in South Africa to determine the destination of stolen NTCSA equipment. The service provider must also profile criminal syndicates and unscrupulous scrap metal dealers and extend this to profiling offenders not related to criminal syndicates within communities involved with the theft of network infrastructure.The security firm that will be awarded the contract must also be able to investigate criminal activities committed by metal merchants, smelters, exporters and metallurgical laboratories relating to the trading, transporting or managing of stolen NTCSA equipment.“The service provider shall have an air surveillance capability fitted with night vision — preferably doing so by using drones, mainly for overhead lines and in mountainous areas.”Eskom’s transmission assets are said to be worth about R100bn. The entity is looking to invest about R440bn in expanding the transmission assets to meet future capacity demands over the next decade.The ownership and control of the transmission assets have been a point of debate. President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to next week receive a report from the presidential task team that he appointed to oversee the process to separate the transmission assets from Eskom.The president earlier this year discarded the utility’s revised unbundling strategy that would have seen it establish a fully independent transmission system operator while retaining transmission assets within the company.The plan, which was approved by the minister of electricity & energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, failed to find favour with the president after an uproar led by the business community. There are concerns among some in Eskom’s corridors that the establishment of an independent transmission system operator that will own the NTCSA assets will undermine its financial viability.Business Times
