After 27 years in the service of Eskom, Riedewaan Barkadien, the Chief Nuclear Officer, has resigned and will leave Eskom on 31 July 2022. Barkadien goes to join a Canadian nuclear utility in an executive position. He resigned earlier this year and is serving his notice period in terms of his employment contract.
Eskom has announced several changes in leadership at its Koeberg nuclear power station.
Eskom has announced that Keith Featherstone, a longstanding nuclear power executive with over 30 years of nuclear experience, and having served as a previous Koeberg Power Station Manager, will be acting in the role of Chief Nuclear Officer while the recruitment process is under way.
Barkadien said: “At Koeberg, the only nuclear power station in Africa, we have all played a role in keeping the plant safe, and the best place to work. The decision to resign was, therefore, by no means an easy decision.”
Further, Eskom announced that the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) in Atlanta in the United States of America has selected the current acting Koeberg Power Station General Manager (PSGM), Nomawethu Mtwebana, to join as a reverse loanee for the next year. Ms Mtwebana will be leaving shortly after the completion of the current outage of Unit 2 in July.
During her time at WANO, she will be a peer reviewer, reviewing performance at various plants in the United States. Ms Mtwebana will then bring this learning experience back to Koeberg.
Mahesh Valaitham, a longstanding Senior Manager with over 27 years of nuclear power plant experience, will take on the role of Koeberg PSGM in an acting capacity.
The changes take place amid ongoing delays in returning Koeberg Unit 2 to service following a planned maintenance outage, and in the steam generator replacement programme which has been rescheduled to start in 2023.
Announcing the changes, Jan Oberholzer, Eskom’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “I wish to assure the people of South Africa and fellow Guardians at Eskom that the organisation has access to a sufficiently experienced and competent executive team to continue ensuring a safe and smooth operation at Africa’s only nuclear power station.” Eskom’s intent is to fill both the Koeberg Power Station General Manager and the Chief Nuclear Officer positions as soon as possible.
For more information visit: www.eskom.co.za