Johannesburg - Eskom is facing yet another crisis over a R100 million contract for the repair, construction and commission of an interim coal conveyor system at the Majuba power station.
The silo collapse last year is one reason why Eskom’s generating capacity has decreased, leaving it struggling to meet increasing electricity demand and brought about the re-introduction of load shedding in November.
The collapse of a Majuba power station coal storage silo dropped output from 3 600MW to 600MW.
This week Eskom confirmed it had received a request from one of the three companies bidding for the tender – Tenova Bateman – to explain its decision in awarding the contract to Rula Bulk Material Handling.
But Eskom refused, only saying: “Seeing the matter is still under consideration between the parties we are not in a position to comment.”
The Saturday Star, however, has reliably learnt that Tenova wrote to Eskom following the awarding contract to Rula, questioning how the company was awarded the tender on the basis that Tenova “submitted the most technically, commercially and financially acceptable tender”, despite the highest price of the three bidders.
Sources with intimate knowledge of the matter told the Saturday Star that Eskom had called emergency meetings with the three bidders – Tenova, Rula and Thyssenkrupp – to avoid any litigation arising out of the tender dispute.
However, a source said Tenova had already informed Eskom of its intention to pursue the matter through an Administrative Justice Act for recourse if it did not get satisfactory answers on how the contract was awarded.
Tenova Taraf Africa managing director Ricardo Tonini refused to comment when contacted by the Saturday Star on Friday.
In January, senior engineers at Eskom’s Medupi power station raised alarm over a potential conflict of interest in coal and ash handling contracts worth more than R1.2 billion which were awarded to Rula, whose director is a relative of one of the utility’s general managers.
At the time Eskom confirmed it had awarded 24 contracts to Rula since 2009 – a company whose director Roelf Odendaal is a close relative of the utility’s general engineer for plant engineering, Danie Odendaal. The relationship has been brought into question again in the latest dispute over Majuba tender awarding, according to another source.
Rula is also responsible for delivering a coal overland conveyor belt system that links mine feed with Eskom’s Medupi coal stock yard. However, engineers claimed then that the belt system was a “downgrade” from the original modern design specified in the tender documents.
But Eskom said an alternative option proposed by the contractor was included in the contract and Rula had met technical obligations by implementing an alternative system that still complied with original utility objectives.
Saturday Star