M. Phil. / Presently, ESKOM is rated as the fifth largest utility in the world that generates and distributes electricity power to their consumers at the lowest price per kilowatt-hour (kW.h). As a utility, ESKOM is the largest supplier of electrical energy in South Africa and is currently generating and distributing on demand to approximately 3000 consumers. This represents 92% of the South African market. ESKOM was selected as the utility supplying electrical energy for the purpose of this study. ESKOM's objective is to provide the means and systems by which the consumer can be satisfied with electricity at the most cost-effective manner. In order to integrate the consumers into these objectives, ESKOM took a decision in 1994 to change the supply tariff from active power (kW) to apparent power (kVA) for a number of reasons: To establish a structure whereby the utility and the consumer can control the utilisation of electrical power supply to the consumer. To utilise demand and control through power factor correction and implementation of load management systems. To identify some cost implications of electrical power factor correction and load management. Consumers with kW maximum demand tariff options had little or no financial incentives to improve their low power factor (PF) by reducing their reactive current supply. Switching to (kVA) maximum demand will involve steps to be taken to ensure that the reactive component is kept to a minimum with maximum power factor. ESKOM has structured various tariff rates and charges with unique features that would accommodate the consumers in their demand side management and load cost requirements, which, when applied, will result in an efficient and cost effective load profile. These tariffs are designed to guide consumers automatically into an efficient way of using electrical power, as it is designed to recover both the capital investment and the operating cost within two to three years after installation of power factor correction equipment. ESKOM's concept of Time-of-use (TOU) periods for peak, standard and off-peak times during week, Saturday and Sunday periods is discussed as load management. Interruptible loads can be scheduled or shed to suit lower tariff rates and to avoid maximum demand charge. The concept of load management will change the operation pattern of the consumer's electricity demand whereby the consumer will have immediate technical and financial benefits. In the last chapter of this dissertation, a hypothetical case study addresses and concludes on some of the technical and cost implications of electrical power factor correction and load management as a successful and profitable solution to optimize electrical power supply to the consumer. By implementing the above, ESKOM ensures that the consumer utilizes the electrical power supply to its optimum level at the lowest cost per kilowatthour (kW.h) generated.

M.Ing. (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) / The present Eskom procedure used for allocating harmonic current injection limits to large customers have been in use for the past three years. This thesis presents an international comparison of the Eskom procedure with other procedures. This comparison is used as a basis for development of recommendations that can lead to improvement of the present procedure ...

The King II Report on Corporate Governance was released in March 2002. This report, although focusing on South African businesses, is acclaimed as a world first in setting superior governance standards. Corporate governance in South Africa is undergoing transformation due to the influence of the King II Report, and a range of other global trends such as Global Reporting Initiative guidelines and the infamous collapse of Enron due to governance failures. Non-financial reporting (also referred to as sustainability reporting) forms the main focus of this research project. The financial reporting aspects of corporate governance, and the role of governing boards and auditors fall outside the scope of this study. Through document analysis methods, Eskom's annual reports from 1998 - 2002, were analysed to establish whether patterns in sustainability reporting were identifiable. Employees and consumers of Eskom were. interviewed, using structured interviews to explore their awareness and knowledge regarding sustainability issues. A drastic increase in Eskom's non-financial reporting was identified in 2000. Apart from the corporate governance category, none of the chosen categories showed a major change after the 2002 release of the King II Report. Possible reasons for the lack of clear trends since 2002 are that the pattern is either not yet visible or it could be speculated that Eskom, who had won various reporting awards, is a leader in the field of corporate reporting and specifically on sustainability issues. Eskom had been involved in the reviewing of the first King Report and the drawing up of the recommendations for King II, and could therefore have modified their reporting procedures in 2000, prior'to the release of King II. As shown in the trend analysis, companies are coming under increased pressure to be socially accountable and transparent. This is fast becoming a 'core business issue', illustrated by the status of the King II Report requirements for corporate governance. Even though the terminology 'sustainability reporting' is unfamiliar to employees and consumers, both groups want disclosure and transparency of sustainability issues. Employees were, however, more aware than consumers of Eskom policies regarding sustainability issues. This report recommends that companies take a pro-active approach to corporate governance and sustainability reporting, noting the desire of consumers and employees to be informed about non-financial issues. These stakeholders also need to be made more aware of the meaning and significance of sustainability reporting.

This research paper is broken up into three sections, namely an evaluation report, a literature review and research methodology. The evaluation report section is the assessment of the current state of change readiness within the Eskom Contact Centre’s based upon what the literature on change readiness prescribes. The timing of the change readiness assessment is just prior to significant organisational change. The organisational change that was about to be initiated by the organisation was initiated from the boardroom of the most senior echelons of the organisation, and was directed in a top down approach, being a strategic organisational change. The change is deemed to be critical to the organisation being able to meet its long term strategic and sustainability objectives. A critical examination of the literature explored the meaning of change readiness, the importance of it and explained the consequences for organisations that commit to transformational agendas without being ready. Key concepts such as such resistance to change and organisational inertia are described and differentiated from change readiness. The ADKAR change model and its change readiness assessment instrument were used due to the organisations preference for the model. The ADKAR model formed the framework for the analyses of the data, the discussion of the results and the recommendations to the organisation. The research conducted was quantitative in nature; a questionnaire was distributed to the employees of the seven Eskom Contact centre sites around the country through an email. A slightly modified version of the ADKAR change readiness questionnaire was sent via email with an on-line questionnaire link on it; and questions on individual readiness for change were used to assess the level of readiness of the employees. Most of the descriptive and inferential statistics were analysed with the use of Excel (version, 2010), with Factor Analysis being done in research showed that: - The factors as proposed by the ADKAR change readiness assessment questionnaire (i.e. Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement) are not different enough to be considered as independent factors for this data set. Based on factor analysis, the factors were subsequently amended from five to three, namely Readiness, Opportunity Realisation and Uncertainty. - The Contact Centre employees were somewhat ready for change. - The Contact Centres needed to focus on all amended ADKAR factors in order to improve the readiness of the department. - The readiness levels in response to the roll out were more or less uniform. The study shows that given Eskom’s preference for the ADKAR model, future research within Eskom should therefore be conducted more circumspectly with respect to ascertaining the validity of the ADKAR factors. The study also makes mention that future work and/or research will need to be conducted, specifically on the readiness of the organisation itself, in order to improve the probability of transformational success. The ADKAR assessment is a people focused assessment and therefore focuses only on the readiness of the individual. Factors such as the adequacy of the current state of resources within the organisation, which incorporate aspects such as infrastructure, technology and staffing, will also need to be assessed to make a more holistic statement of change readiness. A concise review of the literature is incorporated into the Evaluation Report of Section 1 to underpin the study. In Section 2 a more extensive review of the literature is presented. Similarly, the design of the research is discussed in more detail in Section 3 to both describe and justify the appropriateness of the research methodology, and to give a detailed account of the way in which the research was carried out.

M.Ing. / Water gives life. It waters the fields of farmers; it nurtures the crops and stock of rural communities; it provides recreation for our children, our friends, our families; it supports our power generation, our mines, our industry, and the plants and animals that make up ecosystems. Water is the key to development and a good quality of life in South Africa. South Africa's water belongs to its people. It is the task of the South African Government to care for this water, to seek its fair distribution, and to facilitate its wise use for, amongst other things, social and economical development. Issues such as water resource management, use, protection, water services, etc., are presently governed by a number of policies, acts and regulations. All South Africans has a responsibility regarding the management of the country's resources. The supply of water to its entire people makes it extremely important to optimise the use of this scarce source. Access to water and water availability remains a key factor in ensuring the sustainability of development in Southern Africa. The coal fired power industry is a major user of natural resources; coal for fuel and water for steam generation as well as the cooling systems. It is estimated that 1.5% of the water abstracted in South Africa is used for power generation. The power industry receives its water mainly as abstraction from surface impoundments in the form of rivers and dams. Eskom, as a strategic user of water, is mindful of the importance of water to its business, as well as the development of the country. In addition to the interests of the government as the shareholder, Eskom recognises the legitimate interests, as stakeholders, of specific government departments, employees, consumers, suppliers, investors and lenders of capital, rating agencies, the media, policy and regulatory bodies, trade unions, non-governmental groups and local communities in its affairs. Eskom needs to ensure, through an effective water management strategy, that water is used wisely and effectively and that Eskom's impact on local water resources (surface and underground) is minimised. Eskom therefore has to manage water resources in a manner that will sustain the ecological integrity, support social development and ensure economic growth. Eskom has undertaken to benchmark the power generation industry, in co-operation with the DW AF, in a project aimed at developing the principles of water conservation and water demand management. In order to effectively manage water quality and quantity at Eskom's power stations, and to show Eskom's commitment with regard to water conservation and use, Eskom has compiled its own water and environmental policies.

M.Sc. / The transmission system of Eskom occupies approximately 28 000 km of servitude that crosses a number of biomes in South Africa. The management of these servitudes, with respect to the impacts that the system has on the surrounding environment, as well as the effect of biotic, social and natural phenomena on the electrical system, needs to be carefully managed. This study investigates these bi-directional influences to determine which are pertinent to the management to the transmission line servitudes. This study also derives a number of strategic actions and accountabilities for all participating departments in the Transmission Division of Eskom, who are involved in the management of one or more phases of the life cycle of the servitude.

This study investigated the causes of employee dissatisfaction by means of a case study of the Business Application Solution Centre (BASC) at the Eskom Academy of Learning (EAL). The rationale for the study was to contribute further to a general understanding of employee dissatisfaction. This study highlighted the issue of the under-representation of blacks and females (of all races) in senior positions, and further emphasised appointment and recruitment issues that promote unfair labour practices, organisational culture and structure issues that undermine workplace relations, and the extent to which management responds to the abovementioned issues. A mixed method approach was employed to gather data from BASC employees. Qualitative data was collected by means of one focus group discussion and nine in-depth, face-to-face interviews. For the focus group and face-to-face interviews, purposive sampling was used for the selection of respondents, in order to ensure representation on all race, gender and occupational strata. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for both the focus group and face-to-face interviews. The questioning route was guided by the themes of gender, appointment and recruitment issues, culture and structure issues, and management response and practice. Quantitative data was collected by means of an online survey. Even though the online survey link was sent to employees on all strata, top managers did not participate. The use of a web-based online survey had an element of immediacy and also ensured maximum confidentiality, as responses were transferred to a development server with no link or trace to the respondents. The study revealed many underlying causes of employee dissatisfaction, such as the following: (1) the main drivers of black and female under-representation in top positions were lack of skills development, mentoring and career-pathing; (2) among the recruitment and appointment practices leading to employee dissatisfaction was the appointment of employees to ‘acting’ rather than permanent management positions; (3) there was a perception that managers abused their authority by promoting their favourites and overlooking those who they did not like; (4) although an affirmative action (AA) policy had been implemented at BASC, it was felt that employees should be appointed and promoted on merit, and that this should be accompanied by mentoring; (5) in some instances, the hiring of consultants deprived employees of opportunities to perform critical tasks. The fact that consultants were paid more than employees was also a source of discontent; (6) appointment criteria were non-transparent, and respondents revealed that they knew who was going to be appointed even before the recruitment process had been completed; (7) a bureaucratic culture was found to be the main organisational culture issue undermining workplace relations. On the other hand, a culture of teamwork appeared to reduce dissatisfaction and enhance unity; (8) the major organisational structure issues undermining workplace relations were managers who lacked managerial competencies and unequal payment on the same grade; (9) employees who stood their ground were given a low rating during performance appraisals. Others were bullied by senior managers and colleagues, who were rude towards them; (10) a hostile working relationship between managers and employees was caused by managers who lacked human resource skills; and (11) junior managers were undermined by employees who bypassed them and went straight to senior managers to discuss workplace issues. This study addresses both the general lack of information regarding the causes of employee dissatisfaction in South Africa, and of employee dissatisfaction in the information and communication technology (ICT) workplace environment. The findings of the study will also contribute towards a better understanding of the general causes of employee dissatisfaction. The results of this study suggest that more in-depth investigations of the causes of employee dissatisfaction are necessary to fully address this issue, and in order to ultimately prevent a further increase in the rate of employee turnover. Some implications for further research became apparent during the course of this study: similar studies on employee dissatisfaction should be conducted with top managers; studies on the experience of managers appointed to acting positions should be undertaken; and follow-up studies on employee dissatisfaction should be conducted as causes are addressed and relevant interventions are implemented. / Business management / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

M. Tech. (Department of Logistics Management, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / The primary objective of this study was to investigate the supplier relationship management practices at Eskom. Currently, the challenges faced by the parastatal include diminished reserve margin, increased unplanned generation plant outages as well as coal supply and quality constraints coupled with ever-rising primary energy costs. It is, therefore, evident that as a national asset, Eskom cannot overcome the current challenges successfully without strong partnerships with key suppliers. A framework for supplier management containing four different elements was researched. The first element, which forms the basis for all supplier management operations, is the development of supplier management relationships. The framework also includes supplier collaborations and the various aspects of discovery, supplier pre-selection, and supplier selection, which relate to finding, qualifying, and choosing the best suppliers. Lastly, and also very important was the supplier development and localisation as well as the legislature thereof. A quantitative cross-company survey was conducted using a sample of 260 suppliers, who have been on the database for more than twelve (12) months and who responded to the business requests to update the data on the system. The findings of the study are largely supported by the literature. Finally, the study makes recommendations and highlights further research, managerial, and policy implications.

M. Tech. Business Administration / The objectives of this study was to investigate which top five critical success factors had contributed to the changes in performance of the IT projects in Eskom group IT's project delivery department, to examine and understand at which phases of the project life cycle these factors occur and to investigate which criteria are used to evaluate whether a project was a success or failure.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Science in Engineering, Johannesburg September 1998 / Combustion modelling of utility furnace chambers provides a cost efficient means to extrapolate the combustion behaviour of pulverised fuel (pf) as determined from drop tube furnace (DTF) experiments to full scale plant by making use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The combustion model will be used to assimilate essential information for the evaluation and prediction of the effect of • changing coal feedstocks • proposed operational changes • boiler modifications. TRI comrnlssloned a DTF in 1989 which has to date been primarily used for the comparative characterisation of coals in terms of combustion behaviour. An analysis of the DTF results allows the determination of certain combustion parameters used to define a mathematical model describing the rate at which the combustion reaction takes place. This model has been incorporated into a reactor model which can simulate the processes occurring in the furnace region of a boiler, thereby allowing the extrapolation of the DTF determined combustion assessment to the full scale. This provides information about combustion conditions in the boiler which in turn are used in the evaluation of the furnace performance. Extensive furnace testwork of one of Eskom's wall fired plant (Hendrina Unit 9) during 1996, intended to validate the model for the ar plications outlined above, included the measurement {If : • gas temperatures • O2, C02, CO, NOx and S02 concentrations • residence time distributions • combustible matter in combustion residues extracted from the furnace • furnace heat fluxes. The coal used during the tests was sampled and subjected to a series of chemical and other lab-scale analyses to determine the following: • physical properties • composition • devolatilisation properties " combustion properties The same furnace was modelled using the University of Stuttgart's AIOLOS combustion code, the results of Which are compared with the measured data. A DTF derived combustion assessment of a coal sampled from the same site but from a different part of the beneficiation plant, which was found to burn differently, was subsequently used in a further simulation to assess the sensitivity of the model to char combustion rate data. The results of these predictions are compared to the predictions of the validation simulation. It was found that the model produces results that compare well with the measured data. Furthermore. the model was found to be sufficiently sensitive to reactivity parameters of the coal. The model has thereby demonstrated that it can be used in the envisaged application of extrapolating DTF reactivity assessments to full scale plant. In using the model, it has become apparent that the evaluations of furnace modifications and assessments of boiler operation lie well within the capabilities of the model. / MT2017