Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati has underlined the importance of reducing the State-owned group’s cost base as a newly constituted board takes over from the one appointed in October 2022.

The outgoing board took office amid extreme levels of loadshedding and deep financial distress and oversaw the implementation of a ‘Generation Recovery Plan’, which was approved in March 2023.

At the time, the coal fleet’s energy availability factor (EAF) had fallen to only 48.39%, and the overall fleet EAF was 55.49%.

Various interventions were implemented to improve the operational performance of the power stations, and Eskom reported a year-to-date EAF of 63.51% at the end of November.

The recovery was also reflected in a reduction in the use of the diesel-fuelled open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs), with Eskom expecting to spend R8.5-billion to operate the OCGTs this financial year compared with R30-billion in the 2023 financial year.

The group’s financial performance had also improved, with Eskom reporting a profit after tax of R16-billion in its 2025 financial year, compared with a R23.9-billion loss in the 2023 financial year. Eskom also reported an after-tax profit of R24.3-billion for the first half of its 2026 financial year.

The new board, which Nyati would continue to chair until October 2026, would seek to sustain single-digit tariff increases by focusing on operational efficiencies and tightening cost discipline.

A cost optimisation and revenue enhancement programme was projected to deliver cumulative efficiencies of R112-billion over a five-year period, supported by “revenue growth, procurement savings, primary energy optimisation, digital transformation and capital productivity”.

Besides Nyati, CEO Dan Marokane and CFO Calib Cassim (who will retire in October) remain members of the new board, to which previous board members Lwazi Goqwana, Clive le Roux, Dr Tsakani Mthombeni, and Dr Busisiwe Vilakazi have also been reappointed.

The new members include Dr Andrew Barendse, Dr Kgaugelo Chiloane, Sharmila Govind, Dr Dimakatso Matshoga, Tshokolo Nchocho, Professor Vuyo Peach and Bajabulile Tshabalala, with Tshabalala assuming the role of lead independent director from Leslie Mkhabela.