Having achieved a milestone of 300 days without load shedding, Eskom is now firmly focused on a new target of delivering one year without implementing power outages, according to its group executive for generation

What: South Africa's state-run power utility Eskom has achieved 300 days without blackouts. The utility has also completed the strengthening of its executive team.

Why: Eskom has attributed its latest achievement to the successful execution of its generation recovery plan.

What next: The strategic appointment of two new executives is expected to enhance Eskom’s capacity to achieve its ambitious goals faster and more efficiently.

South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom on January 21 achieved 300 days without implementing rolling power outages, or load shedding, a milestone last seen in June 2018.

In a press statement, Eskom said it was now focused on achieving an even bigger goal of one year without blackouts, which is only about two months away. The utility has also announced two new executive team appointments.

“Credit goes to all our 40,000 dedicated and skilled Eskom employees, who are committed to serving South Africa. Our sights are now firmly focused on delivering one year without load shedding at midnight on 26 March 2025,” Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom group executive for generation, said in the statement.

Latest achievements

The utility has attributed its latest achievement to the successful execution of its generation recovery plan, as recently reported by NewsBase.

“These 300 days without load shedding have been characterised by a significant reduction in unplanned outages, which have long been one of the biggest challenges, a notable improvement in the energy availability factor of approximately 7%, and savings in diesel expenditure of ZAR16.42bn [$879.5mn],” Nxumalo noted.

Eskom’s summer outlook (from September 2024 to March 2025) predicts a load-shedding-free period, driven by structural improvements in generation.

According to the utility, unplanned outages averaged 12,040 MW year-to-date, 960 MW below the summer base case of 13,000 MW. Current unplanned outages amount to 12,566 MW, with an available generation capacity of 28,145 MW.

The utility said that Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) improved to 25.22% (April 2024 to January 2025) from 32.78% during the same period last year. Furthermore, ongoing planned maintenance at 6,799 MW aligned with Eskom’s summer strategy to enhance reliability for winter 2025.

Road to success

According to Eskom group CEO Dan Marokane, the state-owned entity’s (SOE’s) performance has been on a steady upward trajectory since the implementation of the Energy Action Plan (EAP) announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July 2022.

“Public sentiment is shifting. Business leaders, who once had to invest precious capex in self-generation, have enquired whether they should revert to investing in Eskom for their power needs,” he said.

“The savings we are making in diesel spend are invested in the business to drive efficiencies further and place Eskom on a path to profitability and long-term operational and financial sustainability,” Marokane added.

In the statement, Eskom expressed gratitude to all stakeholders, including the Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the Eskom board, the government, and the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM), for the continuing joint effort in addressing South Africa’s electricity generation challenges. The power utility said it would continue implementing its plans to improve performance.

“Eskom will continue to focus on implementing generation recovery, strengthening governance, and tackling crime and corruption while future-proofing the organisation to enable energy security, growth and long-term sustainability to the benefit of South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa,” the statement read.

Executive team strengthening

In an earlier media statement on January 17, Eskom said it completed its executive team strengthening with the appointment of Candice Hartley as chief people officer and Rivoningo Mnisi as group executive for renewables. The newly appointed executives are expected to bring in new skills to guide teams within the business towards faster and more efficient execution.

“In the last 10 months, we have focussed on strengthening our executive team not only to bring in specialist skills to drive the delivery of our strategy in a fast-moving and increasingly competitive marketplace, but to also drive interventions to address the legacy management control issues that have characterised our recent audit findings,” said Marokane.

Chief people officer

Dr Candice Hartley is a seasoned human resources executive with 20 years of experience across industries such as finance, industrial, IT, and fast-moving consumer goods. At Eskom, her primary focus will be on ensuring the organisation has the necessary skills to thrive in a competitive environment. She will also work on modernising Eskom’s workforce plans and human capital practices to align with the company’s strategy, while promoting greater use of technology throughout the organisation.

Before joining Eskom, Hartley was executive partner and head of people at KPMG South Africa. Her career includes senior positions at AECI, British American Tobacco (BAT), Pernod Ricard, Lenovo, Barloworld, Standard Bank, and South African Breweries. She also founded Mwangaza Advisory, a consulting firm specialising in creating customised people strategies to meet organisational goals.

Hartley’s academic credentials include an MBA and a postgraduate diploma in business administration from the University of Pretoria, along with a BA (Hons) in psychology from the University of Johannesburg. She also holds a PhD in commerce from the University of Cape Town.

Group executive for renewables

Rivoningo Mnisi brings more than 20 years of expertise in digitalisation, innovation, and sustainability, with a strong track record in implementing strategic initiatives and achieving operational excellence. At Eskom, his focus will be on establishing a competitive renewable energy business, advancing work already underway to deliver an initial pipeline of at least 2 GW of clean energy projects by 2026. He will also oversee the development of Eskom’s broader pipeline of over 20 GW of renewable energy projects, aimed at diversifying the energy mix and supporting the company’s emissions reduction goals.

Before joining Eskom, Mnisi was the chief strategy officer at Exxaro and previously worked for Anglo American.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Johannesburg, a BSc (Hons) in applied science from the University of Pretoria, and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. Mnisi is also a contributing member of the World Economic Forum’s chief strategy officers community for the global mining and metals industry.