Eskom appoints new Chief Operating Officer

Eskom has appointed Jan Oberholzer as its new Chief Operating Officer, the power utility announced on Friday afternoon.

"Jan has had 38 years of working experience, of which 24 were at Eskom, where he held various positions, including that of the COO of the Distribution Division.

"Most recently he successfully led the improvement of a number of Hydro power plants in Zambia," said Eskom's group CEO, Phakamani Hadebe, in a statement. 

"Jan brings with him a wealth of operational experience in the energy sector, as well as valuable institutional memory, which I am confident will stand him in good stead to successfully reform our operations and set them up for sustainable success."

Since Cyril Ramaphosa beat out Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to win a tough race for ANC president in December 2017, Eskom's top leadership has been changing. 

On January 20, when he was still deputy president, Ramaphosa announced a new Eskom board. Shortly thereafter, the utility's suspended CFO Anoj Singh resigned. 

Ramaphosa was elected president in mid-February. Shortly thereafter, he named Pravin Gordhan as Minister of Public Enterprises.  

Gordhan, meanwhile, confirmed Hadebe as permanent CEO in late May. 

The appointment of Oberholzer means that two positions in what Eskom refers to as its "three-person top team" have been filled. The group is still searching for a suitable CFO. 

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