Mteto Nyati has been retained as Eskom Board Chairperson for another three-year term, a move government says is aimed at locking in stability as the power utility pivots from ending load-shedding to building what it calls Eskom 2.0.
Nyati’s reappointment comes as Eskom marks more than a year without national load-shedding, with the utility reporting 365 consecutive days without blackouts in May 2026 and 490 days by mid-September.
Speaking at a Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) briefing in Pretoria on Friday, Nyati confirmed the board will meet in October to develop a clear five-year plan for the next phase of Eskom’s turnaround.
He warned that the gains of the last three years, achieved through the Generation Recovery Plan, could easily be lost if Eskom drifts from engineering discipline.
Explaining how Eskom was able to move away from the crisis that crippled the economy for over a decade, Nyati said the utility had to return to basics.
“As long as we continue to follow the disciplines of running this company as an engineering company,” he said, Eskom would sustain its performance.
“If you throw all of the standard operating procedures out of the window, we will certainly go back,” he warned.
It was a blunt admission that load-shedding was not just a technical failure, but a failure of process, maintenance and leadership.
Fixing it, he said, required properly maintaining equipment and following standard operating procedures without shortcuts.
That approach has delivered results. Eskom’s Energy Availability Factor has climbed to 67.96% in September 2026, its highest level in six years, while unplanned outages have fallen by 6.92% and 3 100MW of generation capacity has returned to the grid. Diesel spending has also been slashed by R4.8 billion year-on-year.
But Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said that Nyati’s second term will not be about celebrating the end of blackouts. The next battle is affordability and expansion.
Ramokgopa told the briefing that having electricity available does not solve the problem if the cost becomes unaffordable for households and industry. Keeping power flowing while making it cheaper will define Eskom 2.0.
According to Nyati, the new phase will focus on five key pillars: maintaining the generation fleet and continuing proper engineering practices, ensuring sufficient funding for maintenance, expanding renewable energy and transmission infrastructure, preparing for increased electricity demand including from data centres, and strengthening regional electricity interconnections and exports.
The board will also have to confront two of Eskom’s most stubborn problems: improving customer service and addressing the ballooning municipal debt that continues to threaten its financial sustainability.
Nyati’s continued leadership is seen as a continuity play. The Eskom board has been reconstituted, but several key directors have been retained.
The new board includes Dr Busisiwe Vilakazi, Lwazi Gogwana, Clive Le Roux, Dr Andrew Barendse, Dr Dimakatso Matshoga, Dr Kgaogelo Chiloane, Sharmila Govind, Dr Vuyo Peach, Dr Tsakani Mthombeni, Bajabulile Tshabalala and Tshokolo Nchocho.
