By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit: NTCSA.
Isabel Fick has resigned as the General Manager of the System Operator at the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA).
NTCSA is a new, state-owned entity spun off from Eskom, responsible for owning and operating South Africa’s national electricity transmission grid, managing the system operator, facilitating the energy market, and ensuring non-discriminatory access for all players, aiming to create a more efficient and competitive power sector as part of South Africa’s energy reforms.
The System Operator has 5 departments: National Control, technical operations, telecommunications, grid code compliance and system reliability services, also known as demand response and ancillary services.
Fick was the leading figure responsible for keeping the grid stable — one of the toughest jobs in South Africa.
Fick will leave Eskom on 31 January 2026, after 30 years with the company.
She told Moneyweb she will remain in the industry, but “will be looking at it from a different vantage point”. The NTCSA will immediately begin the recruitment process for her replacement.
Fick says: “We made sure there is enough depth with several people with good skills and experience to take over from me.”
Fick has three decades of experience at Eskom, having started as an engineer in training in 1995. That came after she completed her B.Eng degree in electrical and electronic engineering at the North-West University (NWU).
She has also obtained a Master of Business Administration from the NWU, a government certificate of competency, and several senior management programme qualifications.
Fick’s only break in service from Eskom was eight months between 2002 and 2003, when she worked for Denel.
She had been employed in the Eskom System Operator division since December 2018 and was appointed general manager in September 2020.