Cape container terminal stutters through power cuts

‘Sabotage’ allegations added to the mix
RAY SMUTS
ESKOM, THE Koeberg nuclear power plant, and the Cape Town Unicity are at the bottom of the popularity stakes after the Western Cape was rocked by countless, mostly unannounced, power cuts last month, costing the province millions of rand in lost revenue. There was also gloom at the Cape Town container terminal at the end of February as Sapo planning officer David Davids confessed: “It’s going bad, man, more times in the dark,” after Eskom had cut power for four hours earlier on, this after a 12.42 hour cut on February 19. Eskom’s public apology seems to have run like water off a duck’s back. The city has accused the power utility of not playing open cards and executive mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo admits the power cuts were not foreseen. “We have a direct line to Eskom but nothing helps as they are supposed to notify us in advance of an impending cut which they have only done on one occasion.” says Davids. Power cuts were not the only bugbear at the terminal in February, though. More vessel bunching and some 12 hours of wind delays between February 17 and 23 brought the total work stoppages for the month due to wind to 144 hours (158 hours in January). To add fuel to fire, public enterprises minister Alec Erwin has alleged and subsequently retracted allegations that the power blackouts in the Western Cape have been caused by sabotage at the Koeberg nuclear power station on the Cape West coast. The minister said that plans to deal with the Western Cape power shortage would be announced at the end of April. Even once Koeberg’s problems have been sorted out, its electricity supply will be 1 500 megawatts (MW) short of the average 3 700MW used by the province. Meanwhile, an unnamed organisation, in an e-mail to a Cape radio station, has claimed responsibility for sabotaging the power station, asserting: “As you are fond of electricity cut-offs on the poor and oppressed in South Africa, taste a bit of that which they taste.”