The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) has noted the resignation of Eskom Chief Executive Officer, André de Ruyter (in December) and calls on the utility to deliver a smooth leadership transition.

“We recognise that it has been a challenging time at the utility, but our call would be that the Eskom board do their utmost to ensure a replacement is found in a timely manner,” said Dr Rethabile Melamu, SAPVIA CEO.

“A sustainable and secure electricity supply is vital for the future prosperity of the country and we need continued, targeted investment to accelerate the decarbonisation of South Africa’s economy. Renewable energy technologies will continue to play a vital role, solar PV in particular, can bring new kWhs to the grid the fastest, at all market scales, utility, commercial, industrial and household levels through local companies.

“Eskom committed to expanding grid capacity as well as increasing transmission infrastructure to support the much-needed uptake on renewable energy. It is vital that these investments continue at pace and the transition to a new CEO does not hamper progress on resolving the problem of load shedding.

“As an Association we are keen to support Eskom to mitigate the ongoing blight of load-shedding and our team will work closely with the new CEO and other partners as we work to deliver energy security for South Africa.”