Eskom

Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the largest producer of electricity in Africa, and was among the top utilities in the world in terms of generation capacity and sales.

• What are the main power stations operated by Eskom?
• Why is Eskom implementing load reduction?
• What are the current challenges faced by Eskom?
• Is Eskom currently load-shedding?
• How do I report Eskom fault?
• How much debt does Eskom have?
• How do I find load shedding in my area?
• How long does load shedding last?

Eskom’s mandate, is to lower the cost of doing business in South Africa, enabling economic growth, and providing electricity in an efficient and sustainable manner. The mandate is informed by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), which outlines the Shareholder’s expectations of Eskom over the planning horizon. 

The vision and mission were developed to support the mandate.
Eskom creates value through the generation, transmission, distribution, purchase, and sale of electricity. Its value creation model below depicts how it transforms inputs into electricity supplied to customers. Electricity is generated by transforming inputs from the natural environment, such as coal, nuclear fuel, fuel oil, and diesel, as well as water and wind, into electricity. This energy is transmitted over Eskom’s ~33 000km of network in which the supply and demand of electricity are balanced in real time, maintaining the frequency of the power system at 50 hertz (Hz). The electricity is distributed through an extensive distribution network that covers the entire country to supply over 86% of South Africa’s needs and ~20% of the electricity produced in Africa.

Operating structure

Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd is a state-owned company (SOC) as defined in the Companies Act, 2008 and is wholly owned by the South African Government. The Department of Public Enterprises as the Shareholder Ministry sets our mandate and outlines the expectations from government through the Strategic Intent Statement (SIS) and the Shareholder’s Compact (SHC). As a state-owned entity, Eskom also plays a significant developmental role in support of the National Development Plan 2030 (NDP), by supporting job creation, economic and skills development, broad-based black economic empowerment
(B-BBEE), transformation and other national initiatives. 

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is responsible for energy policy. Key documents like the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA) and the Electricity Pricing Policy (EPP) are instruments that outline the direction of the electricity sector in which Eskom operates.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) regulates the industry under the National Energy Regulator Act, 2004 and the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006 by providing licences, regulatory rules, codes, and guidelines. NERSA also determines Eskom’s revenue allocation in accordance with the Electricity Pricing Policy (EPP). 

The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) provides oversight of our nuclear power station, Koeberg, by ensuring that it complies with nuclear safety standards to protect individuals, society and the environment against radiological hazards linked to the use of nuclear technology. Eskom is also subject to oversight or regulation by several other government departments (e.g., National Treasury (NT), Ministry of Electricity (MoE), Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE)), and Parliamentary committees. 

Eskom’s core divisions, Generation, Transmission and Distribution, rely on corporate support functions to operate effectively. The main subsidiary, Eskom Rotek Industries, performs turbine and transformer subsidiary repairs and provides specialised construction and transport services, in support of the electricity business, while other subsidiaries also provide strategic support services. 

The figure below provides Eskom’s high-level organisational and regulatory structure. 

Eskom transforms inputs from the natural environment – coal, nuclear, fuel, diesel, water, and wind – into more than 90% of the energy supplied to a wide range of customers in South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. To balance electricity supply and demand in real time, the System Operator (soon to be the Independent Transmission and System Market Operator, ITSMO, as the Transmission business continues to legally separate) must maintain the frequency of the power system at 50Hz.

Eskom is one of the few remaining vertically integrated utilities connected to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) through an interconnected grid, which serves to support grid stability. Eskom relies on SADC members to maintain sufficient and reliable transmission grids in their countries.

The foundation of the business is the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity, supplemented with the construction of new power stations and network infrastructure. The Gx, Tx, and Dx Divisions rely on support in the form of finance, human resources, procurement, information technology, telecommunications, strategy, risk and sustainability, legal and compliance, and stakeholder relations. In support of the electricity business, Eskom Rotek Industries (a subsidiary) performs turbine and transformer repairs and provides specialised construction and transport services.

STRATEGIC INTENT STATEMENT

As a state-owned entity, Eskom must implement government policy and strategy. The Shareholder’s Strategic Intent Statement (SIS) outlines government’s short-to-medium-term and long-term objectives for Eskom to achieve. Eskom has adopted these SIS objectives to ensure that Eskom remains a critical and strategic contributor to government’s goal of ensuring security of electricity supply to the country, and enabling economic growth and prosperity.

Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd has the Government of the Republic of South Africa as its sole shareholder, with the shareholder representative being the Minister of Public Enterprises. As a public entity, it is governed by the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999 (PFMA). The PFMA requires a company to conclude a shareholder compact with the shareholder representative. The shareholder compact has to contain shareholder expectations in the form of predetermined objectives and key performance indicators and ensures alignment between the Board and the shareholder representative. In addition, the PFMA requires that a company submit a strategic corporate plan to the shareholder on an annual basis, setting out its strategic objectives, with plans and targets to achieve those objectives.

The governance framework, which regulates Eskom’s relationship with its Shareholder (the Government of the Republic of South Africa) and guides the way Eskom does business, is set out in the figure below:

If you have completed an application form for a service from Eskom, and you have sent your form to the relevant e mail address with the relevant hashtag and province in the subject line eg #Applications Western Cape,  Eskom will notify you, via sms, of the milestones reached in your application.

EasternCape@eskom.co.za
FreeState@eskom.co.za
Gauteng@eskom.co.za
KwaZuluNatal@eskom.co.za
Limpopo@eskom.co.za
Mpumalanga@eskom.co.za
NorthernCape@eskom.co.za
NorthWest@eskom.co.za
WesternCape@eskom.co.za

Please ensure that your email has the relevant email subject heading as follows:

• For Applications related queries, please use #Application and the Province your request relates to.
• For Move In / Move Out related queries, please use #MIMO and the Province your request relates to.
• For Accounts related queries, please use #Accounts and the Province your request relates to.
• For Disconnections and Credit Extensions, please use #DCE and the Province your request relates to.
• In order for us to effectively assist you, please provide us with your account or meter number, two contact numbers and a description of your request.
• For customer complaints click here

Contact Information

In addition to the South Dunes Coal Terminal and Golang Coal companies in Richards Bay harbour in South Africa, other enterprises include:

Eskom Rotek Industries

Eskom Rotek Industries, the largest of the enterprises in the Eskom Enterprises stable, was established to construct, maintain and transport equipment to support Eskom to meet and exceed South Africa’s electricity needs.

Click here for the Rotek Industries website

National Transmission Company South Africa
The National Transmission Compnay South Africa (NTCSA) owns and operates the country’s national transmission system, the world-class System Operator, the grid strengthening function, energy market services and the International Trader.

In terms of current legislation, NTCSA plays the role of the Transmission System Operator and buyer. It will assume additional roles once the Electricity Regulation Amendment (ERA) Bill is passed into law. The NTCSA will trade with Eskom Generation and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) using the current industry framework. The transition to a competitive electricity market will only commence after the ERA is gazetted, and NTCSA will assume the additional role of Market Operator. In this capacity, it will provide a platform for generators, consumers, traders, and retailers to trade with one another, as is the case in leading countries around the world.

The establishment of the NTCSA is another step in the electricity market structure reform, aiming to enhance efficiency and promote transparency. It will act as a catalyst for much-needed improvements and upgrades within the national electricity transmission infrastructure.

Click here for the NTCSA website 

Eskom Uganda Limited

Eskom Uganda Limited prides itself on its expertise in electricity generation concession management in Uganda where it has been operating for the past 13 years. Experienced in hydro power generation and backed by the expertise of Eskom Enterprises, this concession is poised for growth – supporting Uganda’s vision to give 80% of the population access to electricity by 2040.

Click here for the Eskom Uganda Limited website

Trans-African Projects

Trans African Projects (TAP) specialises in effective design solutions for transmission and distribution projects with a footprint in mainly Africa, but reaching as far as the Middle East and China. Expertise focuses on substation design, renewable energy solutions, network studies, consulting engineering and project management. TAP has the unique ability to design ‘fit-forpurpose’ line solutions, making their line optimisation product well sought after. 

 Click here for the Trans-African Projects website