A new technical review team has been appointed to investigate a host of issues at the embattled power utility Eskom.

The public enterprises ministry said on Monday evening that the 11-member team will be responsible for examining:

-plant unavailability due to scheduled maintenance;

-plant unavailability due to unplanned outages and unscheduled maintenance;

-operator errors resulting in power plants tripping and shutting down;

and -technical and operator-associated inefficiencies resulting in lower than optimum electricity output from power station units.

The team will begin its work on Monday March 11 and will have to report back to public enterprises Pravin Gordhan and the Eskom board within a month. It will meet this Friday before it begins its work.

“The technical review team includes academic‚ engineering and power systems professionals and is required to conduct a rapid but intensive review of the operations‚ maintenance and the technical environment at Eskom power stations within four weeks of commencing their work‚” the ministry said in a statement.

Dr Tsakani Mthombeni‚ chairperson of the Energy Intensive Users Group‚ and Ian Morrison will be the two coordinators of the team.

Other members are Seeralan Chinaboo‚ Khumo Morolo‚ Gladman Mkwai‚ Robbie van Heerden‚ Sibuyela Sishuba‚ Dr Walter Schmitz‚ Vitesh Maharaj‚ Lwazi Goqwana and Phindile Mooketsi.