Eskom on Friday said it has reached 296 consecutive days without implementing loadshedding since March 26 last year.

“On Monday 20 January at midnight, Eskom will reach 300 days of loadshedding suspension for the South African economy, a milestone not seen since June 2018,” it said.

The power utility added that this performance has also resulted in year-to-date diesel savings of R16.42 billion (on a year-on-year basis), which is about 62.9% less than the R26.09bn spent during the same period last year, as a result of the continued execution of the Generation Operational Recovery plan.

In a separate statement, Eskom group chief executive Dan Marokane has announced the appointments of Dr Candice Hartley as chief people officer and Rivoningo Mnisi as group executive: renewables, which it says completes “the utility’s executive team overhaul aimed at enhancing efficiency and execution”.

Dr Hartley, an experienced Human Resources executive, brings two decades of expertise across various industries, including financial, industrial, and technology sectors. Her focus will include aligning Eskom’s workforce strategy with its competitive market goals, transitioning human capital practices, and driving technology adoption.

Mnisi, a specialist in digitalisation and sustainability, will lead Eskom’s renewable energy division. He aims to develop at least 2GW of clean energy projects by 2026 while advancing a broader 20GW pipeline as part of Eskom’s emissions reduction strategy. Formerly Chief Strategy Officer at Exxaro, Mnisi also brings experience from Anglo American and holds an MBA from GIBS.

“In the last ten months, we have focused 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.

BUSINESS REPORT