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Cape Town – Eskom CEO Brian Molefe is thriving on the challenge of “arresting the crisis” at the power utility and returning it to stability.
Over five months have passed since Molefe was shipped off as Transnet CEO to captain the ailing utility in an acting role, a position that became official at the end of September.
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride,” he told Fin24 on Wednesday. “It’s going to be an even bigger rollercoaster ride going forward.
“We seem to have made progress in that regard (of stabilising Eskom) by reducing load shedding, (and now we can) address the fundamentals in the business, including what the organisation will look like in the future,” he said.
“We’re in a position where we are going to make decisions now that are going to affect what the organisation’s going to look like in 20 years,” he added.
Stabilising electricity capacity as well as the company’s balance sheet and the debt it owes is paramount to bringing Eskom to normality.
Molefe will also be focusing on getting a tariff increase the next time he faces the National Energy Regulator (Nersa), after failing to get a 9.58% price hike in June.
There are many pressing issues that journalists tackle Molefe about, but this time Fin24 decided to throw him a curve ball and ask him what he loves most about his job.
“The thing that has really touched me has been the morale of the staff,” he said. “I have seen it visibly going up almost every fortnight.
“People are getting rejuvenated and we are emphasising that they must focus on their personal development plans,” he said. “The only way they can improve Eskom is by improving themselves.
“It is the human side – the employees of Eskom – that excites me.”
Earlier Molefe told Parliament the utility does not anticipate load shedding until "at least the 30th of April”.
Molefe said Eskom was celebrating 50 days of no load shedding and 87 days where only two and a half hours of load shedding took place, this despite stepping up maintenance on Eskom's ageing fleet.
He also said there is an urgent need to build more nuclear power plants in South Africa.
“We do not think it is possible to have an energy mix without nuclear,” he told Parliament.
“The nuclear programme is feasible,” he said. “It has a life beyond 60 years and the payback period is 20 years.
“It feasible to fund and operate further nuclear plants in South Africa,” he said. “It is urgent that we do so.”
