The army has been deployed to several of Eskom’s power stations in a bid to crackdown on threats of sabotage and theft.

Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says a minimum of 10 soldiers would be deployed in the initial phase at each station, and that further deployments are in the pipeline.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) will be stationed at Majuba, Grootvlei and the Tutuka power plants.

Meanwhile, Energy Expert Chris Yellend says the army being deployed to power stations has been the in the works for some time.

Yellend explains that in the last month, the power utility has bolstered up private security which wielded some results.

He adds that with the continued threat of coal theft and sabotage, further impacting the dire state of the country’s energy crisis, the government needs to present a strong hand and show that it takes protecting Eskom’s infrastructure and resources seriously.