Eskom, South Africa’s biggest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, has created a new role, group executive for renewables, and appointed Rivoningo Mnisi to the position.
The move signals the state-owned electricity utility’s determination to expand the use of renewable energy sources in its generation mix, which has historically mainly focused on its fleet of coal-fired power plants that contribute significantly to air pollution and climate change.
In a statement on Friday, Eskom said Mnisi will focus on delivering an Eskom renewable energy business “that will become a significant player in this segment, focusing on work already in progress for an executable initial pipeline of at least 2GW of clean energy projects by 2026”.
“He will also lead the advancement of Eskom’s pipeline of more than 20GW of clean energy projects to diversify its energy mix as part of the emissions reduction strategy,” it said.
Mnisi was previously chief strategy officer at resources group Exxaro. He has also worked for Anglo American and holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Johannesburg, a BSc (honours) in applied science from the University of Pretoria and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science.
At the same time, Eskom said it has appointed Candice Hartley as chief people officer.
“A key area of her focus will be to ensure Eskom has the skills the organisation requires to operate in a competitive marketplace. She will also transition Eskom’s human capital practices and workforce plans to align with the strategy and ensure the wider adoption of technology across the organisation,” the utility said.
Read: Eskom risk premium falls as turnaround wins over investors
Before joining Eskom, Hartley was executive partner and head of people at KPMG in South Africa. She has also worked for AECI, British American Tobacco, Pernod Ricard, Lenovo, Barloworld, Standard Bank and South African Breweries. She holds an MBA and has completed a PhD through the faculty of commerce at the University of Cape Town. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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