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Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the largest producer of electricity in Africa, and was among the top utilities in the world in terms of generation capacity and sales. It is the largest of South Africa's state owned enterprises. Eskom operates a number of notable , including Matimba Power Station and Medupi Power Station in Lephalale, Kusile Power Station in Witbank, Kendal Power Station, and Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in the Western Cape Province, the only nuclear power plant in Africa.
The company is divided into Generation, Transmission and Distribution divisions, and together Eskom generates approximately 95% of electricity used in South Africa, amounting to ~45% used in Africa, and emits 42% of South Africa's total greenhouse gas emissions. By releasing 1.6 million tons of sulphur dioxide into the air in 2019, Eskom is also the largest emitter of sulphur dioxide in the power industry in the world. Eskom has periodically implemented rolling blackouts since January 2008, a practice ascribed to basic dereliction of duty by former president Thabo Mbeki which were later discontinued in early 2024, but electricity supply issues still linger. Implementation of new generating capacity during this period was fraught with delays and which brought the utility to the brink of bankruptcy. In 2019, it was announced that Eskom was to be split up into three distinct nationally owned entities due to huge debts and poor reliability of supply.
At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, a deal was announced for developed countries to fund South Africa's transition from coal power to renewable energy. However, employment in the mining sector threatens this transition.
Eskom was founded by the Electricity Act of 1922 which allowed the South African Electricity Control Board to appoint Hendrik Johannes van der Bijl as chairman. The company changed its name by combining the two acronyms in its previous name (ESCOM and EVKOM) in 1987 to become known as Eskom.
The Electricity Act stated that Eskom could only sell electricity at cost and was exempted from tax with the firm initially raising capital through the issuing of , later issuing state-guaranteed loans instead. The coal-fired Congella Power Station in Durban and Salt River Power Station in Cape Town were the first power stations built by Eskom, both completed in mid-1928.
One of Eskom's first power plants was a coal-fired 128 MW station in Witbank, completed in 1935 to provide power to the mining industry. The plant was built and run in partnership with the privately owned Victoria Falls and Transvaal Power Company, which owned a number of other power plants across the country. Thanks to state support, Eskom was able to buy out the Victoria Falls and Transvaal Power Company in 1948 for £14.5 million (roughly equivalent to £2.55 billion in 2017). Following World War 2, South Africa experienced power shortages that led to Eskom negotiating power saving agreements with the mining industry in June 1948.
In 1974 the company was instructed to start work on Koeberg nuclear power station to both provide power to Cape Town and help facilitate the South African government's nuclear program.
In 1981 Eskom was involved in one of its first large financial scandals when its Assistant Chief Accountant was caught embezzling R8 million from the company (equivalent to roughly R164.37 million in 2018).
During the 1970s the company controversially sought to increase electrical tariffs to help pay for its large expansion plans. Due to its financial situation, the government appointed Dr. W.J. de Villiers to chair a commission that recommended a number of financial and organisational changes for the company to adopt. This led to the company abandoning its no-profit objective and to raise funds by taking out international loans. The number of Eskom employees was also reduced from 66,000 to 60,000 in the late-1980s.
In 2016, Eskom stated it intended to pursue a nuclear solution to the country's energy shortage. According to projections from late 2016, the use of nuclear power would provide over 1000GW of power by 2050. In preparation, the company launched a training program for 100 technicians, engineers and artisans that would certify them as nuclear operators. In January 2018, Eskom's acting chief financial officer stated that the company could not afford a new build, following a 34% drop in interim profits due to declining sales and increasing financing costs. The government stated it would proceed with the plan but more slowly.
In 2017, Eskom was the focus of a major corruption scandal involving the Gupta family and the administration of then President Jacob Zuma.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa denied an application by Eskom to increase electricity tariffs by a future 19.9% for the financial year 2018/19. The regulator instead granted a 5.2% increase and gave a list of reasons for the refusal to grant higher tariffs that the South African newspaper Business Day stated painted "a picture of inefficiency, inaccurate forecasting and cost overruns" at the power utility. Part of the refusal was the finding that Eskom had 6,000 more employees than needed, costing the company R3.8 billion annually.
In February 2019, shortly after the announcement by government that the company would be broken up, Eskom initiated another round of emergency load shedding. Eskom stated that the 2019 load shedding was initiated due to breakdowns at power stations as well as the depletion of water and diesel resources. Other reasons cited included legacy issues from state capture corruption, coal availability, and that new power plants such as Medupi and Kusile were not yet operational. Corruption during the Zuma administration had been noted as a major factor in the cost overruns and long delays in completing Medupi and Kusile power plants that had a knock-on effect leading to the 2019 power shortages. The power shortage and related troubles at Eskom was blamed as a significant contributing factor to a 3.2% decline in GDP growth in the first quarter of 2019, prompting fears of a recession in 2019. In December 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa, deputy president David Mabuza and Ministers Gwede Mantashe and Pravin Gordhan met with Eskom's board and management to discuss about the energy crises. The president attributed the recent blackouts partly to sabotage at the Tutuka Power Station in Mpumalanga which had caused a loss of 2000 megawatts of electricity, and announced measures to bring an end to load-shedding. Mantashe and Gordhan were tasked with presenting ways to increase electricity capacity to the cabinet, which would include self-generation. Amid the crisis, Jabu Mabuza resigned from his post as chairperson of Eskom's board in January 2020. Between March and July 2020 the power supply was stable due to reduced demand during the COVID-19 lockdown, but on 12 July a new round of level 2 load shedding began due to the breakdown of generating units. During the winter of 2023, the country experienced Stage 6 blackouts, shaving a projected 2% off the country's GDP. South Africa nearing end of daily power cuts, minister says During the worst period, power cuts lasted 12 hours a day. South Africa: load shedding will intensify in winter The company faces theft of materials for resale, sabotage to force repairs to be made at corruptly inflated prices, and assassination attempts which may be motivated by the attempt to replace coal with renewable sources.
In February 2019, these plans were resurrected during the State of the Nation address. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the government would be splitting Eskom up into three new state-owned entities focusing on generation, transmission and distribution. This was done so as to better manage the serious operational and financial problems facing the company. By the time of the speech Eskom had a total debt burden of R419 billion (US$30.8 billion) and was entering a death spiral whereby there was not enough revenue to make debt repayments.
In a February 2019 briefing, the Department of Public Enterprises stated that Eskom was "Insolvency" and would not be able to operate past the next three months if it did not receive additional loans. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni then announced in his 2019 budget speech that government would be providing a R69 billion rand (US$5 billion) bail-out to Eskom over a three-year period so as to stabilise the company's serious financial situation.
In July 2023, NERSA approved for the National Transmission Company of South Africa to operate a transmission system in South Africa. In September 2023, NERSA approved the remaining trading and import/export licences.
In December 2019 COSATU suggested that money be used from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to reduce Eskom's debt from around R450 billion to more manageable levels. In return COSTATU proposed a number of conditions that included keeping workers employed. The trade union Solidarity was strongly apposed to the COSATU proposal arguing that it put the pensions of public employees at risk. The country's second biggest trade union, the Federation of Unions of South Africa, was also skeptical of COSATU's proposed plan.
| Acacia Power Station | Western Cape | Gas turbine | 1976 | 171 | Operational | [3] |
| Ankerlig Power Station | Western Cape | Gas turbine | 2007 | 1,338 | Operational | |
| Arnot Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1971-1975 | 2,352 | Operational | |
| Camden Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1967-1969; 2005-2008 | 1,561 | Operational | |
| Duvha Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1980-1984 | 3,600 | Operational | |
| Gourikwa Power Station | Western Cape | Gas turbine | 2007 | 746 | Operational | |
| Grootvlei Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1969-1977; 2008-2011 | 1,180 | Operational | |
| Hendrina Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1970-1976 | 1,893 | Operational | |
| Kendal Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1988-1992 | 4,116 | Operational | |
| Komati Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1961-1966; 2009-2013 | 990 | Operational | |
| Kriel Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1976-1979 | 3,000 | Operational | |
| Kusile Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | (2017–2025) | 3,200 (4,800) | 4/6 units operational | |
| Lethabo Power Station | Free State | Coal-fired | 1985-1990 | 3,708 | Operational | |
| Majuba Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1996–2001 | 4,110 | Operational | |
| Matimba Power Station | Limpopo | Coal-fired | 1987-1991 | 3,990 | Operational | |
| Matla Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1979-1983 | 3,600 | Operational | |
| Medupi Power Station | Limpopo | Coal-fired | 2015–2019 | 4,764 | Operational | |
| Port Rex Power Station | Eastern Cape | Gas turbine | 1976 | 171 | Operational | |
| Tutuka Power Station | Mpumalanga | Coal-fired | 1985-1990 | 3,654 | Operational |
| Colley Wobbles Power Station | Eastern Cape | Hydroelectricity | 1984 | 42 | Operational | |
| Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme | Free State | Hydroelectricity | 1981 | 1,000 | Operational | |
| Gariep Dam | Free State-Eastern Cape border | Hydroelectricity | 1971 | 360 | Operational | |
| Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme | KwaZulu-Natal | Hydroelectricity | 2017 | 1,332 | Operational | |
| Koeberg Power Station | Western Cape | Nuclear power | 1984 | 1,860 | Operational | |
| Ncora Dam | Eastern Cape | Hydroelectricity | 1972 | 2.1 | Operational | |
| Palmiet Pumped Storage Scheme | Western Cape | Hydroelectricity | 1988 | 400 | Operational | |
| Sere Wind Farm | Western Cape | Wind power | Jan 2015 | 100 | Operational | |
| Vanderkloof Dam | Northern Cape | Hydroelectricity | 1977 | 240 | Operational |
Eskom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Exxaro in April 2025, in relation to the former's intention to decarbonise.
In May 2025, Eskom issued an invitation for companies to tender for the construction of a pilot renewable green hydrogen facility (RHF) at its Johannesburg Research, Testing and Development (RT&D) unit. The company stated that developing renewable green hydrogen production capacity was a key priority in its mission to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in South Africa. During the same announcement, Eskom confirmed that it is also accelerating the establishment of a separate renewable energy business.
Phakamani Hadebe was made acting CEO and director of Eskom in May 2018 as part of President Ramaphosa's replacement of the company's executive team. A year into his term as CEO Hadebe resigned citing poor health and the difficult circumstances of the job. His resignation sparked a debate amongst political parties over the difficult state of managing the financially strained state owned company as well as the lack of political cover he was given to deal with labour unions and tackle corruption.
Six months after Hadebe's departure, former Nampak Chief Executive André de Ruyter was appointed CEO of Eskom. De Ruyter's appointment was criticised by the EFF and factions within the ANC who instead wanted a black CEO appointed to the position. De Ruyter resigned in December 2022 after repeated attacks on him by Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy partly due to de Ruyter's advocacy for replacing coal with Renewable energy as an energy source. News24 reported that he was not given the support needed to succeed in the position. Shortly after the announcement that de Ruyter would be leaving Eskom it was reported that he survived a poisoning attempt after he unknowingly drank a cup of coffee at his office that was laced with cyanide.
| Revenue (R billion) | 91.45 | 114.8 | 128.9 | 138.3 | 147.7 | 164.2 | 177.1 | 177.4 | 179.8 | 199.5 !204.3 |
| Operating profit (R billion) | 14.5 | 22.3 | 3.99 | 13.2 | 11.1 | 15.7 | 15.5 | 20.5 | 4.41 !6.68 | |
| Net income (R billion) | 8.36 | 13.2 | 5.18 | 7.09 | 3.62 | 5.15 | 0.88 | ! | ||
| Total debt (R billion) | 160.3 | 182.6 | 202.9 | 254.8 | 297.4 | 322.7 | 355.3 | 388.7 | 440.6 | 483.7 !401.8 |
| Employee benefit expenses (R billion) | 16.7 | 20.2 | 23.6 | 25.6 | 25.9 | 29.2 | 33.1 | 29.4 | 33.3 | 33.2 !32.9 |
| Number of employees | 41,778 | 43,473 | 46,266 | 46,919 | 46,490 | 47,978 | 47,658 | 48,628 | 46,665 | 44,772 !42,749 |
| Electrical output capacity (GWh) | 237,430 | 237,414 | 232,228 | 231,129 | 226,300 | 238,599 | 220,166 | 221,936 | 218,939 | 214,968 !201,400 |
On 28 March 2018 Moody's Investors Service downgraded Eskom's credit rating to B2 from B1 stating that it was concerned with "the lack of any tangible financial support for the company in the February state budget".
On 24 November 2020, Moody's further downgraded Eskom's long-term credit rating to Caa1. This places Eskom's credit within the "speculative grade" of investment, with a "very high credit risk".
Due to the company's large size and important role as the region's primary energy producer President Ramaphosa stated that Eskom was "too big to fail" as the reason why government had to continue to fund it despite its serious financial situation.
In February 2023, with debt sitting at R423 billion, the South African government announced that, subject to approval from existing debt holders, it would be providing support worth R254 billion, including interest payments for the following three years and three capital payments of R78-billion in 2023/24, R66 billion in 2024/25 and R40-billion in 2025/26, with the intention to reduce Eskom's overall debt to R300 billion.
Load shedding was reintroduced in early November 2014. The Majuba power plant lost its capacity to generate power after a collapse of one of its coal storage silos on 1 November 2014. The Majuba power plant delivered approximately 10% of the country's entire capacity and the collapse halted the delivery of coal to the plant. A second silo developed a major crack on 20 November causing the shut down of the plant again, this after temporary measures were instituted to deliver coal to the plant.
In 2016, Eskom said that unplanned outages had been reduced. In May 2016, former president Jacob Zuma said assurances had been given to him by Eskom management.
In June 2018, there was Stage 1 load shedding along with a strike over wages.
In February 2019, a new round of load shedding began due to the failure of coal burning boilers at some power stations due to poor quality coal. This resulted in long running periods of level 4 load shedding across the country in mid-March 2019, including night-time load shedding and promised to report back. The situation at Eskom and resulting energy crisis became a political issue during the 2019 South African general elections.
On 19 November 2021, Eskom announced that an initial forensic investigation found evidence that recent damage to a coal conveyor at Lethabo was the result of deliberate sabotage. Steel supports had been severed, causing a power supply pylon to collapse. In a media briefing, de Ruyter commented that the matter had been referred to the Hawks for further investigation. In May 2022 the Minister for Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, reported to Parliament that additional incidents of cables being cut intentionally by saboteurs, rising theft at its power plants, and corruption around the supply of fuel oil, had greatly worsened the energy crisis and Eskom's ability to resolve it.
A report compiled by Eskom and G9 Forensic found that the two consulting firms including Gupta owned Trillian made R1.6 billion (US$120 million) in fees with an additional R7.8 billion made from future contracts. An investigation done by the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism found that the Gupta family had received contracts worth R11.7 billion from Eskom to supply coal between 2014 and 2017. With pressure for Eskom to sign the first coal supply contracts with Gupta-owned entities being applied on the state-owned firm by then President Jacob Zuma. In 2019 South African Special Investigating Unit launched an investigation into corruption related to the construction of the Medupi and Kusile power stations as a cause of repeated construction delays and project cost increases; this led to the investigation of 11 contractors for allegedly stealing R139 billion (US$9.13 billion) from the projects. In 2019, two senior Eskom managers and two business people were charged with fraud and corruption related to the construction of the Kusile power station.
In January 2020 South African Minister for Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, stated that cost overruns and corruption during the construction of Medupi and Kusile power stations was an important reason for the dramatic increase in Eskom electricity prices.
In March 2020, Deloitte agreed to pay back R150 million of the R207 million sought by Eskom. However, in a joint statement, it denied being part of any corruption, and that they acknowledged that there were technical irregularities in the process of awarding the contracts.
In April 2020, Deloitte told AmaBhungane that the managing director for Deloitte Africa's advisory division Thiru Pillay and the lead consultant on the Eskom contract Shamal Sivasanker had resigned effective 31 March 2020 for their roles in the Eskom event.
In November 2021, Eskom announced that it had appointed Deloitte as its next external auditor, as its contract with Grant Thornton was expiring at the end of that month.
Eskom have again applied to NERSA for an urgent 17% increase in tariffs for 2019/2020 in an attempt to make up a R27.323 billion shortfall, Eskom is citing lower returns due to lower sales volumes as main reason for needing this price hike. The lower sales volumes is directly related to load shedding and Eskom's failure to maintain capacity. The price hike application is open for public participation until 20 January 2020. In NERSA has opposed an Eskom application to receive an additional R69 billion government bailout whilst Eskom is challenging NERSA's denial of an additional price increase for 2020/21 of 16% instead of the 8.1% price increase already approved by NERSA. During court proceedings with NERSA Eskom stated that this finances might collapse triggering a debt crisis for the South African government that has guaranteed Eskom's debt. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has stated that corruption and cost overruns during the construction of Medupi and Kusile power stations has resulted in a fourfold increase in electricity prices.
An additional increase of 20.5% was approved by NERSA and announced by Eskom to take effect from 1 April 2022. This price raise was criticized by the mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis as damaging to the economy and requested that it not be implemented. Eskom has a proposal before the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to hike electricity prices by a rumoured 44% for the 2024/2025 financial year The state-owned enterprise has applied for total revenues of R446bn for the 2026 financial year, R495bn for the 2027 financial year and R537bn for the 2028 financial year.
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