Q & A: ESKOM the day before. In that moment, I had to stand up and lead, not only in terms of work, but in terms of humanity.
That taught me that work is not just work. It is a community. You lead the technical work, but you also lead people who come from families, communities and circumstances outside the organisation. You have to retain that humanity.
How do you explain your role at Eskom to someone outside the energy sector? The simple answer is that my role is about helping to shape where Eskom goes in the medium- and long-term.
Eskom must keep the lights on today, but it must also make sure the lights can stay on in future. The energy sector is changing, and there are different ways of delivering electricity and meeting the country’ s needs.
Strategy is about making sure Eskom evolves with the industry while still fulfilling its mandate. It is about innovation, alignment, and direction. You do not just compile a strategy document and say,“ This is where we are going.” A big part of the role is creating alignment across the organisation, helping the business understand the future, and making sure decisions made today take account of risk, sustainability, and the long-term consequences of action.
When you think about a future-fit Eskom, what do you see? Eskom is spending a lot of time making sure it is future-fit. We are having difficult conversations and acknowledging the strengths we already have, while also recognising how much the industry is changing.
The Integrated Resource Plan( IRP) reaffirms Eskom’ s central role in ensuring energy security through reliable firm baseload generation, which is critical for maintaining grid stability and meeting consistent demand. At the same time, Eskom is committed to operating its coal fleet more responsibly by improving performance, strengthening environmental compliance, and reducing emissions in line with its decarbonisation pathway and South Africa’ s broader climate goals, balancing immediate energy needs with a sustainable transition.
Eskom will remain reliant on coal in the near term, reflecting the realities of the current energy system.
However, this must be balanced with a deliberate shift towards more responsible and cleaner operations, improving environmental compliance and integrating cleaner technologies where possible to support a more sustainable energy future.
South Africa must use the energy transition to build capability, industrialisation, localisation, and manufacturing."
At the same time, Eskom is evolving its business model by expanding into renewables, leveraging its core strengths; an extensive asset base, strategically located land, grid access at power station sites, and a skilled workforce to support a more diversified and future-ready energy portfolio.
" Sustainability " is used a lot. What does it mean in Eskom’ s day-to-day decisions? Sustainability is often used as corporate language, and it is also often biased towards the environmental side. For Eskom, it has to be broader than that.
Sustainability is about balance. We have to balance security of supply, affordability, environmental performance and organisational sustainability. The question is not only whether we can reduce emissions. It is also whether electricity remains affordable, whether the business remains viable, and whether Eskom can continue to exist and serve the country.
That balance is also central to a just energy transition. The transition must include communities and stakeholders, but it must also create sustainable livelihoods. South Africa must use the energy transition to build capability, industrialisation, localisation and manufacturing. It should not only protect people from harm. It should allow people and communities to benefit.
What role should women leaders play in shaping South Africa’ s energy transition? Women have a major role to play, because women are often very close to the problems that energy must solve. Women understand the impact of energy in homes, families, communities and workplaces. We understand
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