Eskom has announced the appointment of 12-member board of directors of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) as the power utility moves with its legal separation into three entities.
The unbundling of Eskom into Generation, Distribution and Transmission is the key aspect of the utility's Turnaround Plan envisaged in the Department of Public Enterprises’ “Roadmap for Eskom in a reformed electricity supply industry.”
Transmission is first of the Eskom’s three divisions to achieve legal separation, with the NTCSA already registered and received approval for the requisite licenses from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).
Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati said the appointment of the board completes another critical milestone in the operationalisation of NTCSA.
“The appointment of NTCSA Board takes Eskom a step closer to unlocking the potential that comes with the planned transformation of the electricity industry,” Nyati said.
“We thank all the individuals who raised their hands to guide Eskom into a future where South Africans have reliable, affordable and environmentally friendly supply of power.”
The NTCSA Board will be led by Priscillah Mabelane, who is the executive Vice President for energy business for Sasol. Mabelane is a qualified Chartered Accountant, with experience in leadership, corporate finance, strategy, energy, and risk.
She is responsible for upstream and downstream gas activities as well as distribution, marketing and sales of liquid fuels in Southern Africa.
Dr Brian Armstrong has been appointed as the Lead Independent Director. He is one of the foremost Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry leaders in South Africa, with over 30 years of top-level management experience in telecommunications, Information Technology, technology Research and Development (R&D) and systems engineering, both in South Africa and abroad.
Energy economist Lungile Mashele provides technical due diligence services to close project finance deals within the energy sector. Her skills include providing specialist advice related to finance, development, energy, costing and economics within the energy sector. She is currently an Energy and Infrastructure Specialist at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and has also worked as an Energy Economist and Energy Specialist at Eskom and at the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) on oil and gas, renewables, coal, nuclear and hydro projects in West, East and Southern Africa.
Former Denel chief financial officer Carmen Le Grange was previously a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and has had operational responsibility for several partners and associate directors of PwC, where her focus was the development of the strategy for growth, identification and development of resources, and leveraging the value from the area of business resilience.
Anu Sing has more than 25 years of experience at board and executive level. She has had three successful careers, as an engineer, investment banker and in telecommunications. As an investment banker, she participated in several landmark deals across multiple sectors including energy, mining, heavy industry, manufacturing, financial services and real estate.
Nkosinathi Solomon has experience in transforming organisations. His competencies include strategy formulations, people change management and is an experienced board member.
Prof. Mark Swilling was the Chairperson of DBSA until September 2023, and is the Co-Director of the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch University.
Auke Lont is a highly recognised internationally in the transmission system operator environment. He was the CEO of Norway’s Statnett. He was part of an international group of CEO peers and understands the South African electricity market reform context.
Sedzani Mudau is the Executive Director of Favest Advisory Pty Ltd, Chairperson of the Board of Sentech SOC Ltd and a Non-Executive Director of Ellies Holdings Ltd.
Dr Busisiwe Vilakazi is the Head of Research and Innovation at SITA and a former Senior Researcher at the CSIR.
Tryphosa Ramano is a Chartered Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce (BCom) and postgraduate diploma in Accounting and Finance. She is a corporate governance expert, strategist and has experience in financial services, manufacturing, aviation, and entrepreneur.
Eskom said that further announcement regarding the NTCSA will be made at the right time.
BUSINESS REPORT