Drivers contracted to Eskom arrested stealing coal at Kendal Power Station

While Eskom is busy working hard to ensure the load shedding is cut down as soon as possible, its contracted employees continue to steal from the power utility.

BusinessTech Africa is informed that two truck drivers contracted to Eskom were arrested at Kendal Power Station in possession of stolen coal.

According to various media publications, the two truck drivers at Eskom were locked up on Wednesday night.

The two heavy-duty vehicles, trucks, belong to an ash transporting company contracted to Eskom and they were exiting the power station coal gate when they were stopped by security personnel conducting vehicle inspections.

Despite both truck drivers resisting the routine searches, they maintained that the trucks were empty as they left Eskom.

However, the security team insisted on the search, and the stolen coal was found in the trailers on the spot.

“Coal theft is a highly organised criminal activity, and syndicates involved are being enriched through the proceeds derived from the trade in stolen coal. Eskom continues to lose billions of rands due to the misappropriation of coal and similar commodities, which directly affects production,” said Eskom’s general manager for security Karen Pillay.

BusinessTech reports that Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter said in October that the power utility had called for the help of the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) to investigate employees.

“The coal trucks are then taken while they are ‘off the radar’ to sites where the good quality coal is swapped out for discarded coal – instead of 18 kilojoules per kilogram, it’s seven or eight – and this has a very negative impact on our mills, our boiler tubes. The knock-on effects are significant,” he said.

In addition, the SIU discovered that collusion among coal transporters to mix poor-quality coal from certain mines with good-quality coal from others was a notable modus operandi for coal thieves, as this ensures that contractually required quantities are delivered to the power stations.

Eskom CEO, De Ruyter was quoted saying the current system has a certified stockpile of coal tested at the mines, which is loaded into trucks, covered with a seal, and the vehicle itself is fitted with a tracking device.

Coming back to the latest arrests, the two drivers were arrested, and a criminal case of theft of coal was registered with the Ogies South African Police Service.