South Africa Launches Eskom 2.0 and Renews Nyati's Term

Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramakgopa announced the launch of Eskom 2.0, a strategic roadmap to transition the state power utility from a vertically integrated monopoly into a liberalized, competitive market participant. The initiative follows a period of operational recovery, including a six-year high in energy availability and more than 490 consecutive days without power cuts.

As part of the transition, the government reappointed Mteto Nyati as the board chairman of Eskom for an additional three-year term beginning November 1. Nyati will lead the utility's shift toward financial sustainability, focusing on affordable and cleaner energy while developing local manufacturing for renewable components to reduce import dependency. The plan includes investing R440 billion to lay 14,500km of new transmission lines and introducing 15.2 gigawatts of nuclear generation capacity.

Minister Ramakgopa stated that Eskom will no longer receive government bailouts and will avoid future double-digit tariff increases. However, the utility faces a significant challenge in recovering between R350 billion and R450 billion in municipal debt. To address this, Nyati will utilize Distribution Agency Agreements and payment withholdings to recover funds. Ramakgopa also pledged to reform the indigent register to ensure the R21 billion allocation for free basic electricity reaches poor households rather than being diverted by municipalities.