The government of South Africa named Dan Marokane as the next CEO of the state-owned company Eskom that has imposed up to 12-hour long blackouts this year.
Marokane, who previously served in high-level positions at Eskom including head of group capital, is set to return by March 31 of next year, according to the entity's statement.
Since the end of February, Marokane has served as the interim CEO of the sugar-producing company Tongaat Hulett.
The company has been without a permanent CEO for nearly ten months since Andre de Ruyter's immediate resignation, leading to Eskom's Chief Financial Officer Calib Cassim taking temporary leadership.
Speaking of his appointment, Marokane said it was an "honor" to become the director of the company and that he would work hard to ensure a sustainable future for Eskom.
"It is an honour to be chosen to lead Eskom at this critical juncture in its history. I look forward to working with the leadership team, Eskom Board, the Shareholder and other key stakeholders to accelerate implementation of the Generation Recovery Plan, the creation of transmission capacity as well as other critical Eskom priorities and chart a path to a sustainable future for Eskom. If it is to be, it is up to us," Marokane was quoted in the Eskom's statement as saying.
For more than a decade, the heavily indebted corporation has faced difficulties in maintaining operations in the most developed economy in Africa. Since 2008, the state-owned utility has introduced daily scheduled power outages, called load shedding, to protect the grid when demand exceeds supply.
Since the beginning of 2023, these blackouts have intensified, with regular blackouts lasting up to 12 hours a day. However, the situation has improved since the summer and power outages have been reduced to about two hours a day.
The South African government is helping the company deal with the crisis. Back in August, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that the administration is actively increasing energy generation across the country, which will solve South Africa's energy crisis by 2024.
In November, the South African government passed the Eskom Debt Relief Amendment Bill to ensure that the utility pays interest on amounts advanced as loans and to reduce claims against Eskom if conditions are not met.
Furthermore, South Africa's Minister of Electricity Ramokgopa revealed during an interview with Sputnik Africa in late August that his country is seeking assistance from Russia to find a technical solution to power outages. Moreover, in October, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom stated that Russian-built floating nuclear power plants could contribute to the Africa's reliable and safe electricity supply.