Eskom, which is involved in a payment dispute with US-based technology giant Oracle, says it has put measures in place to ensure operations would not be disrupted should the company withdraw its services as threatened.

However, notes a Business Day report, the dependence on Oracle appears to be fundamental, with a number of services and functions that run on its systems, including monitoring electricity generation, detecting and recording of faults, and distributing power in prepaid areas.

Eskom has previously said that if Oracle were to withdraw its services, SA would be plunged into darkness.

In a statement yesterday, Eskom said it had assessed the risks in the event of Oracle withdrawing technical services support and had interim processes in place to reduce the risk of its operations being disrupted. The dispute adds to Eskom’s woes as it battles to keep the lights on and stay afloat with its crippling debt load.

According to Eskom, Oracle first claimed it had been underpaid by about R7.3bn, which the power utility disputed.

‘Eventually, the amount claimed by Oracle was reduced to just under R400m. As far as Eskom is concerned, the amount due to Oracle is approximately R166m in total,’ Eskom said.

The power utility said it offered to settle the R166m and proposed a ‘verification and court process’ in order to legally and sustainably resolve the dispute.

When Oracle rejected this approach, threatening to terminate its services, Eskom approached the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) to compel the company to continue providing technical support services for the duration of the agreement until April 2022.

Last week, the court dismissed the application. Eskom said it intends to launch an application for leave to appeal.

The Sunday World first reported on the saga at the weekend.

Citing court papers, it reported that Eskom pleaded with the court not to allow Oracle to withdraw its services. Eskom’s chief adviser for strategic IT alliance, Tshifhiwa Ratshimbilani, said if Oracle withdrew these services from the power utility, its operations would struggle to fulfil its obligation to supply electricity.

‘Without a proper supply of electricity from Eskom, almost the whole of SA will be in darkness and come to a standstill, potentially endangering the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population,’ according to court papers.

Sunday World quotes Ratshimbilani as saying the two entities entered into a new pact titled ‘2017 Master Agreement’, in which Oracle agreed to provide products and services to Eskom until April 2022.

He said two years after signing the contract, Oracle conducted an audit on Eskom’s use of its products, after which it claimed that the utility had ‘overused’ them.

Oracle then demanded payment by Eskom of R7.3bn in penalties but the amount was later reduced.

‘Eskom finds regrettable the manner in which Oracle has handled the matter and would like to assure the people of SA that as an entity dealing with public funds, Eskom will pursue all legal avenues and will not be bullied into paying any monies outside of the legal processes,’ Eskom said yesterday, according to the Business Day report.

Full Business Day report

Full Sunday World report