André de Ruyter “COAL HAS NO LEARNING CURVE”

Eskom CEO André de Ruyter is looking beyond SA’s coal addiction to new, appropriate technologies and smarter investment strategies. Stuff publisher Toby Shapshak learns more.

- Toby Shapshak

André de Ruyter is the most important businessman in South Africa today. If the Eskom CEO can’t deal with its debt, its notorious inefficiency and the load-shedding problems, the whole country will suffer. It wasn’t helped by an explosion in Medupi in August which caused an estimated R2bn in damages and will take two years to repair.

De Ruyter is planning to evolve Eskom into a modern power utility, lessening its dependence of coal and embracing cheaper technologies in renewables, while keeping an eye on the upcoming EU carbon border tax.

Faced with an enormous R400-billion in debt from state capture and 66% overstaffed, according to a 2016 World Bank policy research working paper, Eskom is in a deep financial hole – one which threatens to pull the country down with it.

De Ruyter, according to the Sunday Times, was the 28th candidate wiling to say yes to the most poisoned chalice of a job in the country – even more so than that of Bafana or Springbok coach. He must have known he would be vilified and his reputation could be damaged, but he took the job anyway. The accusations – including racism allegations by his since dismissed Eskom chief procurement officer Solly Tshitangano, who was fired for dubiously advancing the interests of a supplier over Eskom.

But de Ruyter is strangely optimistic about what can be achieved with Eskom.

“I think we are in a fortunate position that we are faced with an array of power stations that are rapidly approaching the end of life. They’ve had a very hard life, they’ve been run far harder than norms would dictate, and they haven’t been maintained properly,” he said.