Eskom 2.0 takes big step forward

Eskom has announced that it has appointed directors to the board of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) – a big step forward in the reshaping of the company and legally separating it into three entities.

The appointment of the NTCSA Board constitutes one of the most important pillars of Eskom’s legal separation into three entities, namely Generation, Distribution and Transmission, which is the key aspect of Eskom’s turnaround plan.

Transmission is the first of Eskom’s three divisions to achieve legal separation, with the NTCSA already registered and received approval for the requisite licenses from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).

Nersa granted the new Eskom transmission company two important licences vital to its operations in September 2023.

Under the proposed structure of the ‘new’ Eskom, a new holding company (dubbed NewCo) will operate with three subsidiaries that function independently.

  • Generation: Eskom Holdings Generation (current Eskom)
  • Transmission: National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA)
  • Distribution: National Electricity Distribution Company of South Africa (NEDCSA)


The following individuals have been appointed as the Non-Executive Directors of the Board of the NTCSA:

  • Ms Priscillah Mabelane has been appointed as the Chairperson of the NTCSA Board. She is the Executive Vice President: Energy Business for Sasol, and is a a qualified Chartered Accountant.
  • Dr Brian Armstrong has been appointed as the Lead Independent Director. He is one of the foremost Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry leaders in South Africa. He was previously Group Chief Operating Officer and Group Chief Commercial Officer of Telkom.
  • Ms Lungile Mashele is an Energy Economist. She is currently an Energy and Infrastructure Specialist at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and has also worked as an Energy Economist and Energy Specialist at Eskom and at the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA).
  • Ms Carmen Le Grange is the Chief Financial Officer of Denel. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant, with 22 years of experience in auditing and consulting in the accounting profession and was previously a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
  • Ms Anu Sing has more than 25 years of experience at board and executive level. She has had three successful careers, as an engineer, investment banker and in telecommunications. In her last corporate role, she spent five years with the MTN Group.
  • Mr Nkosinathi Solomon holds an MBA (Cum Laude) degree and a BSc in Chemical Engineering. He has sound board level experience, specifically related to leadership and governance.
  • Prof. Mark Swilling was the Chairperson of DBSA until September 2023. He is the Co-Director of the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch University. His primary research focus is on ‘societal transitions’ within the wider discipline of sustainability science and governance, with a particular contextual focus on urban sustainability.
  • Mr Auke Lont is a highly recognised internationally in the transmission system operator environment. He was the CEO of Norway’s Statnett. He was part of an international group of CEO peers and understands the South African electricity market reform context. He has more than 25 years’ experience in the energy industry.
  • Prof. Francis Petersen is the Rector & Vice Chancellor of the University of the Free State in South Africa. He has formerly been Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, Dean: Engineering & the Built Environment at the University of Cape Town, the Executive Head: Strategy at Anglo American Platinum, Executive Vice-President: R&D at Mintek, and Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Cape Technikon (Now the Cape Peninsula University of Technology).
  • Ms Sedzani Mudau is the Executive Director of Favest Advisory Pty Ltd, Chairperson of the Board of Sentech SOC Ltd and a Non-Executive Director of Ellies Holdings Ltd. She is a seasoned finance professional, a qualified Chartered Accountant, and a registered Auditor.
  • Dr Busisiwe Vilakazi holds a DPhil in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford. She is the Head of Research and Innovation at SITA and a former Senior Researcher at the CSIR. She has experience and skills in ICT Research and Innovation, Data Science & Analytics, Strategy, Digital Transformation. She is also currently a non-executive director of the Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd Board of Directors.
  • Ms Tryphosa Ramano is a Chartered Accountant. She worked as a Chief Financial Officer in various companies and served as non-executive director in various listed and unlisted companies. She is also currently a non-executive director of the Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd Board of Directors.

Distribution Company

Restructuring the distribution company still has a long way to go.

The functional separation of the business was completed in March 2021, the department noted, and the distribution company itself was registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) in October 2022.

Meanwhile, the next steps are also being taken to establish the NewCo to oversee these operations.

Eskom said it has finalised the due diligence report for the establishment of the new holdings company, and this will be submitted to the DPE for consideration.

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