In the wake of the resignation of Eskom's Chief Executive Officer on 14 December 2022, the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has urged the power utility to continue to engage with the wind industry to find viable solutions to unlock the country’s energy challenges.

SAWEA notes that the resignation of Andre De Ruyter coincides with the country’s escalating load shedding levels as it faces unprecedented low levels of available energy (energy availability factors) that threatens the economic recovery.

“We would like to thank Andre de Ruyter for his service and encourage the Eskom leadership to carefully consider the future of the state-owned entity, ensuring its relevance in a changing and challenging environment, in which the wind sector is ready to engage the sector as a leading contributor in the clean energy mix,” said Niveshen Govender, CEO of SAWEA.

He added, “We hope that the successor is able to resolve challenges facing the power utility and energy sector at large by implementing the directive of the President in improving Eskom’s fleet performance and accelerating the deployment of new generation capacity from renewable energy sources.”

SAWEA has reiterated that the wind sector will continue to strengthen relationships with Eskom and work together to effectively address the market failure seen in the latest renewable energy bid window (REIPPPP BW6) to help avoid future risk to the rollout of renewable energy, with the aim of a secure energy supply for the country.