Eskom is struggling to find a new CEO before the end of March.
He mail and guardian understands that it is unlikely that he will be able to find a successor to Andre de Ruyter before the end of his three-month notice period, as sources close to the recruitment process say that the candidates who have been selected by the board have rejected the call to lead utility.
In December, De Ruyter agreed to stay beyond his stipulated 30-day notice period while the utility tried to find a replacement, company president Mpho Makwana said.
A source close to the recruiting process told the mail and guardian that the utility has not yet found a candidate with the right qualifications and experience and would request that De Ruyter stay on until June to give the utility time to find a replacement.
Eskom spokesman Sikonathi Mantshantsha said preparations to announce the group’s chief executive position were at an advanced stage.
Mantshantsha added that once this process has started, Eskom’s normal recruitment process will be followed to identify a suitable candidate.
But he added that “it is highly unlikely that the position will be filled before the end of March. Eskom’s board will give instructions on the way forward should such an eventuality occur.”
The source added that the utility was in talks with the chairman of the board to take over the role in the interim while they continued to search for a candidate, if De Ruyter refused to extend his time at the utility.
Eskom’s search for a new leader comes at a time when it seeks to recover some of the money owed by municipalities and customers through higher fees.
Last week, South Africa’s National Energy Regulator approved an 18.65% rate hike that will take effect in April. This action by the regulator has led to a threat of legal action against the utility, the ANC and the regulator for approving a price increase when the utility is struggling to provide adequate electricity.
The Democratic Alliance filed documents in the Pretoria High Court in an attempt to block the power regulator from granting the rate increase.
During the closing speech at the ANC Free State provincial conference held in Bloemfontein on Sunday, Chairman Cyril Ramaphosa said he had asked Eskom not to implement the 18.65% tariff increase.
“I told Eskom that it should consider stopping the rise in electricity prices, especially for now, while our people are struggling under high levels of load shedding. Many people are reporting that their businesses are failing due to load reduction,” he said.
During a press conference last week, Ramaphosa said of de Ruyter’s successor: “It’s a difficult job. I applaud anyone who takes that job.”
Eskom’s problems
The utility has been hit by troubled coal-fired power stations and debt of more than R349 billion and has struggled for years to meet electricity demand in the country.
Last year saw the largest amount of electricity cut from the national grid to date, with record power outages sparking public frustration, damaging businesses and prompting calls for Eskom’s resignation.
Another Eskom source added that part of the reason some suitable candidates were not interested in the job was because of a lack of security at the utility.
“After all the death threats De Ruyter received and the lack of action from us here is probably why people weren’t applying. The work is risky and because some people didn’t like that, De Ruyter wanted to get rid of crime and they wanted to silence him,” the source said.
In December, De Ruyter claimed that he had been poisoned with cyanide in his office after announcing his resignation.
On Monday, the Cosatu union federation urged the government to ask De Ruyter to extend his deadline to leave until the utility can appoint a replacement, spokesman Sizwe Pamla said.
“For Eskom to really stay afloat, we need someone who has been there, who understands [how the utility works],” he said.
Amid speculation that Makwana would take over, Pamla urged the utility to avoid naming the president as interim chief executive as it had done in the past.
He added that this would distort accountability and leave Eskom in limbo.
energy expert chris yelland said the right candidates could view the Eskom CEO role as a death trap for their career
“There is no way we can expect a miraculous savior to solve all our problems. We should not have undue expectations that a savior will come in the form of the new CEO,” he said.
It could take six months or more to find a replacement and people with the right qualifications would come with a laundry list of conditions, he said.
