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| The Early Years | 1923 - 1929 | 1930 - 1939 | 1940 - 1949 | 1950 - 1959 | 1960 - 1969 | 1970 - 1979 | 1980 - 1989 | 1990 - 2002 | 80 Years | Museum | Time Capsule | Video of Eskom's History | Heritage Home | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dr R L Straszacker was the Chairman of Eskom when it was decided to build Arnot. Eskom then bought the farm Rietkuil from its owners. The seven original owners were: Mr Oosthuizen, Mr Venter, Mr Visser, Mr Brough, Mr Henning, Mr Streicher and Mr Greef. The Project was financed with approval of Capital Expenditure Management, and the Eskom Design and Construction Department was responsible for the design. Sufficient water and, especially, coal in the RietKuil area ensured the construction of Arnot power station in that particular location.
CONSTRUCTION
The construction of Arnot had a great influence on the lives of the community. Previously there were no medical or business facilities nearby. The nearest facilities were 40 km away from Rietkuil at a town called Belfast. With the construction of the station this situation, however, changed. A doctor visited the community twice a week, and a minister from Belfast cared for the religious needs on a Sunday. In the beginning, caravans were the only housing facilities available and the nearest shop/café, named "KOM EN KRY" was about 3 km away.
In 2000 the Rietkuil shopping centre offered a supermarket, butchery, bakery, pharmacy, hairdressing and banking facilities. Several churches were active in the community, and a doctor’s consulting room. A library took care of the need for reading matter, and at Rietkuil Country Club one could spend a pleasant evening out. Rietkuil Primary School was a dual medium school (meaning that instruction was given in English and Afrikaans languages). A daily bus service provided transport to high schools in nearby towns such as Hendrina and Middleburg.
The first Power Station Superintendent at Arnot was Mr John Spears, Mr Ross Hatton succeeded him. Mr John Henderson succeeded Mr Hatton. Then came Mr Roger Matthews, Mr Gert Strydom, Mr Venna Venter (Acting as Power Station Manager), Mr Dries Struwig, Mr Peter O’ Connor and in 2000 Mr Carl Haupt was managing the station.
AWARDS
ACHIEVEMENTS Arnot was a winning station in terms of plant performance and was awarded the Jan H Smith trophy in 1987 and again in 1989. In July 1991 Arnot also celebrated an outstanding performance. The station broke the world record of 32 days by running six units continuously for 35 days 14hours and 29 minutes. (an achievement at the time). The Arnot AmaZulu Dancers won the Eskom Tribal Dance Competition in June 1988 for the second year consecutively, and left on a tour to Germany on 14 September 1988.
On the safety front, Arnot achieved three million man-hours without any disabling injury in 1986, 1990 and 1996 and four million man-hours in 1997. Achievement of the Affirmative Action target of 50.82% at the end of 1999. At the end of 1999 Arnot also boasted the lowest sick leave average of all Eskom power stations in the Generation Group.
In July 1981 intruders sabotaged the transformers at Arnot. They cut a hole in the security fence (a 7 feet wire netting) and blew up two of the transformers beyond repair. Professionals from the South African Police (Middleburg) investigated the site the next morning and disarmed another three limpet mines. No human fatality was recorded. After this incident, the fencing of all Eskom power stations was electrified.
MOTHBALLING AND DE-MOTHBALLING Another traumatic event in the life of Arnot and its employees was when the announcement was made to "mothball" the station, i.e. to decommission the units but to maintain them in such a condition that they could be re-commissioned if necessary. Due to an unforeseen downturn in the South African economy and consequent negative growth in the electricity demand, the decision was taken during 1992 to mothball Units 4,5, and 6. The mothballing decision had a demoralising effect, not only on the Arnot employees, but also on the neighbouring community. When Arnot was mothballed it was also a first for Eskom. A lot of time was spent to ensure that the units were correctly stored and that water and steam touched systems were kept dry. Oil and electrical systems were drained, cleaned and treated with corrosion inhibitors. All critical items on the plant were covered with plastic and regular inspections of plant condition were carried out. The manpower numbers dropped dramatically from 1 494 employees in December 1991 (prior to mothballing) to only 937 employees at the end of 1992 (after mothballing). The restructuring process in Eskom (during 1992) also contributed to these manpower figures dropping. The de-mothballing and re-commissioning of the units, announced in 1994, was a new experience for Eskom and the first operation of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. The re-commissioned units had bagfilters installed, which compare to huge vacuum cleaners, to remove the maximum amount of ash particles from exhaust gas. The units also came back with new control and instrumentation and are fully equipped to satisfy the demand for electricity. As the quote says "Every dark cloud has a silver lining", and Arnot’s sun shines again with the break of the new millennium. Arnot is the first power station to be re-commissioned after mothballing and became a "six pack" station again. Unit 4 came back on load on 28 January 1997, followed by Unit 5 on 22 November 1997 and unit 6 on 30 December 1998.
GENERAL INFORMATIION
Bibliograpy Interviews
[BRIEF HISTORY I THE AIM I COMPETITIONS & AWARDS I CLOSURE] BRIEF
HISTORY
To enable a dog to obtain the VA grading (the hightest possible grading which was only awarded once a year) the animals must have a working title, undergo a major attack on the day of the show, not be afraid of attackers and be able to run for about seven kilometres. The V grading was given to animals that showed great promise for the future. The Eskom Dog Centre had been acknowledged as one of the best kennels in South Africa with such high quality dogs. They boasted a total of four VA graded bitches. They won international honours.
Eskom also took part in the South African Working Dogs Invitation Stakes (SAWDIS) competition annually. In the 1990 SAWDIS competition the Eskom Team won the event with a score of 95 out of a possible 100. Fourteen teams participated including the South Africa Police (SAP), South African National Defence Force (SANDF), Johannesburg Consolidated Investments (JCI), Gold Fields, Bophutatswana Police (BOP), BOP Prisons, South African Air Force (SAAF), Johannesburg City Council, Rand Water Board, SCAW Metals, Anglo American Gold Division, African Explosive and Chemical Industries (AECI SA) and Civilians. All of these were crack teams. The SAWDIS competition grew in stature from its start as a team event for action dogs in 1976 with teams from the SA Army, SA Police, SA Prisons Service and the Civilians. It was specially devised to test the dogs and handlers for the ability and efficiency of the dog and the training capability of the handler.
Bibliography Eskom News Interviews Kobus Olivier – Eskom Protective Services
THE HISTORY OF
THE SECURITY TRAINING CENTRE AT ARNOT POWER STATION [ The Aim I The Security Function I National Keypoint I Closure ] The aim of security training in Eskom was to create a security force able to protect, as far as possible, a national asset, namely Eskom’s plant, buildings and staff, from theft, violence and sabotage.
THE SECURITY FUNCTION IN ESKOM The security function started in Eskom in 1968, and in the same year the first security personnel were employed at Arnot, Hendrina, Camden and Ingagane power stations.
Following various developments in Southern Africa, security of assets took on a greater importance. This was particularly so in the case of the electrical generation and supply industry which is really the lifeblood of a nation. It was Dr Ian McRae (now retired Chief Executive) who, in 1975, arranged for a two-day Security Awareness session, to be attended by power station superintendents and other senior officials. The session was held at Arnot and hosted by the Education Department. It comprised lectures on security and the passing out parade of the second large group of black security guards. The passing out parade of security personnel was the culmination of a gruelling three-month course which included drill, physical training, law, criminal procedure, human relations, Eskom security, accident prevention, fire-fighting and dog-handling.
With the first incident of sabotage in 1981 the focus changed again and even more importance was attached to the security department.
As a result of the introduction of the National Keypoint Act (Act 102 of 1980) the Security Training Centre at Arnot, established in 1974, was registered in 1983 as a National Keypoint training establishment.
Various courses had already been developed to suit individual needs. All security personnel were trained within 12 months of their appointment. The training was work orientated and based on the individual’s level of competence.
The National Keypoints Act laid down standards for courses. Students had to obtain 60 percent in written examinations to qualify. Internal Eskom examinations in weapons handling (70%) and legal subjects related to the use of firearms were also held. The passmark in these was 100 percent.
Various courses were developed to concentrate on the continuous development of skills and to determine training needs. Officials who had completed the initial supervisor’s course could decide in which of the three fields of intelligence, operations or training, they wished to advance. During a period of one year 1080 officials were trained at Arnot (consisting of three Companies and twelve Platoons of thirty students) then the numbers were gradually reduced to 530.
During 1992 the training centre moved from Arnot power station to Wilge power station where the operation was finally closed down in October 1999. Each Eskom site is now responsible for its own security training. Bibliography Interviews [ BRIEF HISTORY I CONSTRUCTION I RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY I POWER STATION MANAGERS I AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS I SABOTAGE I MOTHBALLING & DE-MOTHBALLING I TECHNICAL DATA I DOG CENTRE I SECURITY TRAINING CENTRE ]
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