Andre de Ruyter under siege

Former Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga has slammed Andre de Ruyter’s praise of the private sector’s rescue of the utility, saying that it is a misinterpretation of the facts.

Maroga’s comments refer to De Ruyter’s explanation of the role of the private sector in bringing load-shedding to an end in South Africa. 

In a wide-ranging Q&A at the second BizNews Investment Conference, De Ruyter said the end of load-shedding was not a surprise, but a simple mathematical equation. 

“The end of load-shedding is not a surprise. As a matter of fact, in a previous interview that I did in 2023, I said that load-shedding would end. The math is very simple,” De Ruyter said.

This included the return of Koeberg’s two units after their steam generators were replaced, the connection to the grid of three Kusile units and the return of Medupi Unit 4. 

The performance of Eskom’s other plans has also drastically improved after enhanced maintenance and management. 

Apart from this, Eskom has also spent billions of rands burning diesel to alleviate the pressure on its coal fleet and create space for maintenance to occur. 

De Ruyter brought special attention to the role of the private sector, which he believes is overlooked in bringing load-shedding to an end. 

“What is often omitted is the fact that the private sector, in a period of 18 months, added 6.1 gigawatt. That’s about the size of one-and-a-half Medupis, which took 15 years to build,” he said.

“You can see that every time it’s overcast and cloudy in Gauteng, the system starts to wobble. It’s because of that contribution.”

Former Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga took exception to these comments from De Ruyter comparing the 6,000 MW of solar to the equivalent generation from coal power. 

“When he compared 6,000 MW of solar to 6,000 MW of coal power and its impact on the grid, that is where I disagree,” Maroga told BizNews. 

“Solar power, which is intermittent and weather-dependent, is not equivalent in terms of its reliability to 6,000 MW of dispatchable, base load power.” 

Maroga made it clear that this does not mean he thinks the additional generation capacity from the private sector has not made a difference.

“In South Africa, when we have had a lot of load-shedding, there were suggestions that by simply adding solar power to the grid, we would reduce load-shedding,” Maroga said. 

“My understanding and my engineering background say that the only thing that has reduced load-shedding is the improvement in the performance of the coal power stations.”

Maroga pointed to the drastic improvement in Eskom’s energy availability factor (EAF) from below 50% at the height of load-shedding to around 70% in September 2025. 

“That improvement in the performance of the coal power stations is the thing that is a significant contributor to the reduction in load-shedding,” he said. 

De Ruyter’s appointment was a mistake

Maroga’s comments come after salvoes were fired at De Ruyter from Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati. 

Ramokgopa said that Eskom misdirected itself when it appointed De Ruyter as CEO, with the former chief having no appreciation of what it takes to run an electrical utility. 

Effectively, there was a mismatch between what De Ruyter offered and what was required to lead Eskom out of an extended crisis. 

Ramokgopa said Eskom’s turnaround has been largely a result of the appointment of capable and experienced individuals, who have particular knowledge about how South Afirca’s electricity sector operates. 

These individuals, who know the electricity sector, are coupled with business leaders who have successfully operated complex organisations. 

“They understand the issues of governance and how you steer an organisation the size of Eskom into calmer waters and out of a period of turbulence,” the minister explained. 

In the past, Eskom did not have this when it was led by De Ruyter, with Ramokgopa believing that the utility made a poor choice in appointing him to the top job. 

“I think we misdirected ourselves previously when we got someone at the helm who does not have an appreciation of how to run a utility of this nature,” he said. 

“Really, it is not to cast aspersion, I am just saying there are lessons to be learned and unlearned from that experience.” 

“It goes without saying that the immediate predecessor to Mr Marokane was Mr De Ruyter,” Ramokgopa said. 

Nyati, on the other hand, said that De Ruyter crushed Eskom’s staff morale and failed to ensure all employees were pulling in the same direction. 

“When we landed in Eskom, there were hardly people within the head office. People were staying at home and exploiting the hybrid working model,” Nyati said. 

“You cannot afford that. You need to have people around who work as part of various teams. But, they were hardly there.” 

Nyati also outlined the messages the employees were getting from the management team prior to the current one led by Marokane.

“They found that each time they were listening to their leader, the leader was saying all sorts of things about them being the source of the problem,” Nyati said. 

“How can you be excited to come to work when you are being seen as the person who is creating the problem?” 

Nyati previously explained his surprise at how little support De Ruyter had from within Eskom due to his management of the utility. 

“He had a lot of support externally. What surprised me was that there was no support for De Ruyter in Eskom,” Nyati said.

“That is dangerous. Who are you leading when you see nobody is following you? That is the problem.”