• Eskom searching for new chairman as problems continue to bubble

    Date posted:

    • Post Author

      Patrick Lavery

      Combustion Industry News Editor


The new year has brought no better news for beleaguered South African power utility Eskom, with chairman Jabu Mabuza resigning from his position after further electricity outages over the Christmas and New Year period, following rolling blackouts throughout last year. Plant breakdowns at one point over the holiday period resulted in 12.7 GW of generation capacity out of the company’s 44 GW being offline, giving an idea of the scale of the power shortages. Current Eskom management blame a lack of adequate maintenance at older plants over the course of many years for the problems, and there indeed may be some truth in that argument. But South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hopes that the appointment of a new board to assist new CEO Andre de Ruyter, and the separation of Eskom into three companies, will help to turn the company around. According to a source interviewed by Reuters, it is unclear who will become the new chairman, as “so many suitable people don’t want the job.”