�This power plant is our baby!� � CNEEC
Lawrence Seretse | Tuesday March 25, 2014 15:01
Last year President Ian Khama made a promise to the nation that the power cuts would come to an end on July 31, 2013.
Interestingly, from that period until December and early January 2014 the power situation had stabilised only for a while. During the stable period, the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and the China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) had entered into a six-month interim Operation and Maintenance (O&M) agreement.
The arrangement was such that CNNEC would temporarily operate the power plant and channel electricity to the grid.
During the last quarter of 2013, negotiations with the government and the Chinese to extend the O&M contract reached a deadlock. This saw an entry for the German corporation, STEAG Energy Services, which was roped in to operate and maintain the plant effectively from January 1, 2014.
A source within Morupule B explains that this move by government turned out to be a crucial contributing factor to the most recent nationwide blackouts.
During negotiations with CNEEC, BPC was also negotiating with STEAG Energy Services, the German corporation, to take over the O&M contract.
In an interview with Mmegi, CNEEC has claimed that this came as a shock to them and denied any knowledge of how or why they lost the P1.5 billion contract.
STEAG was roped in immediately after the CNEEC contract ended. CNEEC holds a position that STEAG was never given enough time to be orientated on the power plant so as to understand how it operates and responds at different levels of power generation. Both CNEEC and BPC are satisfied that, except for the boiler complications, the plant has been built according to international standards.
“If BPC had been open with how they were handling the O&M contract issue, acceptably the Germans would have been brought in a few months prior to their takeover so that we could walk them through the machine. It’s like a car, everything is standard but they have to know how it reacts in different operational levels and temperatures and what they should do when it coughs,” a source at CNEEC told Mmegi.
Evidently, it has been two and a half months since STEAG took over. Despite other reported discrepancies and defects STEAG appears to be struggling to operate and maintain the power station, in ascription to the recent power crisis.
Mmegi has been informed that since January when the Germans took over, the power plant has tripped about 20 times, ultimately causing the most severe of blackouts Botswana has ever experienced in a while.
CNEEC is of the perspective that they are solely being accused for the power outages. Especially when STEAG is also in the dark about how the plant is supposed to operate and be maintained.
“STEAG needs proper guidance, otherwise they will damage this machine further. In fact, they are ruining our machine but BPC has too much pride to reverse a decision they already made. At this juncture CNEEC is not obligated to give people power, that’s STEAG’s role. We are more concerned with finishing and delivering the remaining units at BPC’s mandated approval,” CNEEC lashed out.
However, this week the BPC CEO Jacob Raleru told Mmegi that the decision to strip CNEEC of the O&M has been the best decision so far. He asserted that BPC took the July 2013 interim agreement with CNEEC because there was no alternative. He claims it turned out not to have been an ideal decision by BPC after all.
“The dynamics of our relationship were not conducive, so we believe that this was one of the best decisions we made,” he said.
CNEEC counter-blames BPC for lack of expertise, authority and being intransigent when handling a project of this capacity and therefore winds up being caught in a wave of confusion on who to believe or to properly place the blame on.
BPC also lashed out at the Chinese for poor workmanship and all the discrepancies the power plant is experiencing especially the boiler problems.
At the height of the blame game, loadshedding is still prevalent and contradictory dates of when things will go back to normal remain rife between Raleru and Energy Minister Kitso Mokaila.
Raleru informed Mmegi that at some point CNEEC suddenly went cold turkey on the orientation programme they were meant to give the Germans as they took over. Raleru said this might have been motivated by their dissatisfaction of losing the O&M contract.
CNEEC also agrees that losing the O&M was a serious blow on their side and they did not take the matter kindly. They accuse BPC of negotiating the O&M in bad faith.
They also claim on their website, that they operated the power plant for BPC producing electricity since 2012 for free without a contract. However, although unhappy about it they are quick point to out that security guards and the police stopped them from assisting the Germans to operate.
“Somebody thinks we want to damage the machine, they even had the police on guard. This power plant is our baby! We cannot damage our baby,” the CNEEC source said.
The Chinese said that they are under high pressure since nobody can help nor speak for them when all fingers are pointing at them. Raleru said that the Chinese could not be allowed to enter the control room and assist because that was part of STEAG’s role.
“We would not want a situation where you now do not know who to blame when problems arise because you have different companies with different roles trying to run the machine,” Raleru explained, “If we need them to assist it would have to be a formally informed decision”. CNEEC informed Mmegi that STEAG would need a year or more to figure out and confidently understand the machine. “However, Botswana does not have that much time, power is needed as we speak,” Raleru said.
STEAG could not be autonomously drawn into this discussion as BPC speaks on behalf of them, BPC spokesperson Spencer Moreri has told Mmegi.
Mmegi has learnt that the Chinese feel less obligated to offer a helping hand to the Germans since they were given the O&M under the auspices that they are professionally knowledgeable of the power plant.
STEAG is on the other hand struggling to comfortably and confidently run the power-producing machine since the Chinese constructed it. Although specifications were followed as BPC conceded, there is poor workmanship of which CNEEC can pin point out for the Germans to be aware of.
Unfortunately the Chinese will not assist since it is their way of getting back at BPC and to some extent proving that the Germans are not the right choice for the job.
As this cold feud and confusion between CNEEC, STEAG and BPC takes its toll, the nation continues to suffer a serious economic setback due to the acute blackouts.
This inexistent symbiotic relationship between the contractors and the operators of Morupule B spells nothing but doom for the project. The nation as a whole, if BPC and its dearth of expertise in the field cannot resolve this, meanwhile suffers.
As a service provider BPC holds blinded interests. A unit such as the Botswana Energy and Water Regulatory Authority, which would monitor service delivery said to be in the pipeline seems to be the most crucial. Yet the missing player can bring BPC to account for failure to deliver electricity to the nation.