A contractor working at Eskom's Camden power station in Mpumalanga was arrested on Tuesday for alleged sabotage.
Eskom said on Wednesday the suspect, who is employed by a maintenance company working at the power station, is alleged to have intentionally removed a bearing oil drain plug, causing the oil burners to trip repeatedly.
“This malicious act caused the oil to drain out of the bearing, damaging the bearing, which prevented the mills from operating optimally. “Camden unit 4 subsequently tripped after losing all the mills. The incident occurred on Thursday November 10 at about 4.54pm. A case of alleged sabotage was opened for investigation at the Ermelo police station.”
According to Eskom, the culprit confessed to sabotaging the power plant to ensure his employer is awarded additional maintenance and repair jobs. Eskom security GM Karen Pillay said: “It is disheartening to find that some of our contractors are unscrupulous, have malicious intent and are willing to plunge the country into further load-shedding at a time when the electricity grid is highly constrained. We have always suspected that some of our maintenance contractors and employees are behind these acts of sabotage.
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