By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer has been appointed as nonexecutive director and chair of a renewable energy company that has won several bids under the state-backed independent power producer programme.
Mulilo Energy announced the appointment on Wednesday.
CEO of Mulilo Johnny Cullum said in a statement that Oberholzer’s understanding of the energy industry and his commitment to a just energy transition to cleaner forms of energy made him an ideal leader for the company.
Mulilo Energy is an independent power producer majority-owned by global energy investment fund manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). CIP was founded more than a decade ago with investments from large Danish pension funds.
Oberholzer quit Eskom in July when he asked acting CEO Calib Cassim to cut him loose from his project management role at Koeberg and Kusile power stations. Eskom has since mothballed the position of COO, and its appointment of a CEO has been delayed in Cabinet.
Eskom’s former CEO, André de Ruyter, is now a senior visiting Fellow at Yale University in the US, where he will lecture on energy transitions. De Ruyter resigned from Eskom in December and left after a burn-the-house-down interview with journalist Annika Larsen on eNCA in February 2023.
He alleged that Eskom was in the grip of cartels that led to the highest levels of the government. He also alleged that Cabinet members knew the cartels and their political links.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners says it is the world’s largest funder of greenfield renewable investments; it manages 11 funds and has a book of €25-billion (R513-billion) for energy and related renewable infrastructure investments.
Oberholzer was a long-time transmission executive with Eskom. He has expertise in what he calls “the wires” side of the business. South Africa has a healthy pipeline of power from independent producers coming to market, notably solar and wind.
Oberholzer said he aimed to ensure that Mulilo would help grow the SA economy through its cost competitiveness. He said he looked forward to “this new and exciting chapter with gratitude”.