Acting head of generation at Eskom resigns from the power utility

Johannesburg - Rhulani Mathebula, who is the acting head of the generation division, has resigned from Eskom and is expected to leave at the end of the month.

Mathebula was appointed in the acting position just six months ago, following the resignation of long serving generation head Philip Dukashe.

“Rhulani’s successor will be announced in due course pending the relevant recruitment process. Until then Thomas Conradie…will hold the fort, fully supported by all the key stakeholders.

“I’d like, on behalf of myself [and] all my colleagues at Eskom, to thank Rhulani for the service he has given to Eskom and to the country as a whole. That is sincerely appreciated and Rhulani, we wish you well in all your endeavours to come,” said Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer.

The announcement of the resignation comes barely a week after President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his closing remarks at the ANC NEC meeting, said the electricity challenge should be given greater focus.

Eskom has now announced that it anticipates the increased risk of load shedding over the next six to 12 months.

Recently the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research announced that this year was the most intensive load shedding year to date, concentrated in July and September.

According to the council, in the three months of July to September, there had been more load shedding than in any year before.

“We also had time to reflect on the electricity challenges that our country is going through and have urged our deployees in government to continue keeping this challenge that has befallen our people under greater focus to make sure that Eskom does indeed move towards getting rid of load shedding,” Ramaphosa said.

It will be an uphill battle to conquer the challenge as the power utility said load shedding would continue after about 155 days of load shedding experienced since January.

Eskom Group chief operating officer, Jan Oberholzer, said due to the vulnerability and unpredictability of the power system, coupled with the major capital projects, maintenance and major repairs to be executed starting during the next few months, the risk of continued load shedding remained quite high.

Oberholzer said the entity would continue to limp along to meet demand for electricity, particularly over the coming year.

The Star