The Hunt Is on Yet Again for a CEO to Fill South Africa’s Toughest Job
- Power utility Eskom has had 13 chief executives in past decade
- Country has been subjected to record power cuts this year
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South Africa’s debt-ridden state power utility is recruiting its 14th chief executive officer in a decade, but finding someone who can do the job and actually wants it will be a tall ask.
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. supplies more than 90% of the nation’s electricity, has more than 42,000 employees and doesn’t earn enough to cover its operating costs and service its mountain of debt. The utility’s old and poorly maintained plants can’t meet demand for power and have forced it to institute rolling blackouts since 2008. The energy crisis has hamstrung the economy and raised the ire of the government, the ruling party, labor unions and the public.