Company: Eskom
Country: South Africa
Sector: Electric utility
CEO: Dan Marokane
Website: https://www.eskom.co.za
Careers Page: https://www.eskom.co.za/careers/
LinkedIn: Not publicly listed
Email: Not publicly listed
Headquarters: Sunninghill, Johannesburg, South Africa
Founded: 1923
Valuation/Revenue: $13,941m revenue (African Business Top 250, 2025 ranking)
Eskom is South Africa’s state-owned electricity utility, generating, transmitting and distributing the large majority of the country’s power. It has been at the centre of the country’s economic story for the past two decades because of chronic generation shortfalls that produced years of rolling blackouts known locally as “load shedding,” and it is now in the middle of a government-mandated restructuring into separate generation, transmission and distribution divisions.
Is Eskom Legit?
Yes, Eskom (short for Electricity Supply Commission) is a real, government-owned public entity established by an act of the South African Parliament, not a private scam. It is regulated by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) and its finances, generation performance and debt levels are extensively reported on by South African and international media. Its legitimacy as an institution is not in question, though it has faced serious governance failures, state capture-era corruption findings, and years of severe operational underperformance that badly damaged public trust.
How Big Is Eskom?
Eskom reported revenue of roughly $13.9 billion according to African Business magazine’s 2025 Top 250 companies in Africa ranking, making it one of the largest single companies on the continent by revenue and the dominant electricity supplier in South Africa, generating around 80–90% of the country’s electricity depending on the year. Eskom also carries one of the largest corporate debt loads in Africa, with debt that has at times exceeded R400 billion, a legacy of state capture-era corruption, cost overruns on new coal power stations (notably Medupi and Kusile) and years of poor maintenance that forced it to keep borrowing to stay operational.
Who Is the CEO of Eskom?
Dan Marokane became Eskom’s Group Chief Executive on 1 March 2024, taking over an organisation that had cycled through a series of permanent and acting CEOs in the preceding years, including Andre de Ruyter, who resigned in early 2023 following public allegations about corruption and an apparent poisoning attempt against him that drew global attention to Eskom’s troubles. Marokane, a former Eskom executive who had also worked at PetroSA and in the private sector, was brought in to stabilise operations, improve the utility’s energy availability factor, and steer it through the government’s planned unbundling into separate legal entities for generation, transmission and distribution.
Who Owns Eskom?
Eskom is 100% owned by the South African government, reporting to the Department of Public Enterprises (and subsequently the Ministry of Electricity and Energy created in 2024). It is not listed on any stock exchange and has no private shareholders, though it does issue bonds to institutional investors and has received significant government debt-relief support, including a multi-year debt-relief package announced in the 2023 national budget to help stabilise its balance sheet.
Where Is Eskom Headquartered?
Eskom’s head office, Megawatt Park, is located in Sunninghill, Johannesburg, South Africa, though its power stations and operations are spread across the country, with major coal-fired plants concentrated in Mpumalanga province.
How Old Is Eskom?
Eskom traces its origins to 1923, when it was established as the Electricity Supply Commission (Escom) under South African law to provide the country with a reliable, affordable electricity supply. It later became a fully state-owned public utility and, for much of the twentieth century, was regarded as one of the most reliable and lowest-cost power utilities in the world, before its performance deteriorated sharply from around 2007 onward due to underinvestment in new capacity and, later, corruption and maintenance backlogs.
What Has Eskom Been in the News For Recently?
Eskom has continued through 2025 and 2026 to be discussed in the context of South Africa’s electricity sector reforms, including the legal separation of the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) from Eskom, opening the transmission grid to greater private and independent power producer access. Coverage in mid-2026 has also focused on internal debates over selling assets or bringing in private participation, with commentary about the political fight to “keep the family silver.” While load shedding has become less frequent and less severe than at its 2022–2023 peak, Eskom’s recruitment portal for job applicants was reported to be offline for maintenance as of late 2025, and the utility continues to face pressure over its debt levels, ageing coal fleet, and the pace of its unbundling.
Links
Website: https://www.eskom.co.za
Careers Page: https://www.eskom.co.za/careers/
LinkedIn: Not found
Email: Not publicly listed
FAQ
Is Eskom a private company?
No, Eskom is 100% owned by the South African government.
Who is the CEO of Eskom?
Dan Marokane, Group Chief Executive since March 2024.
Why does Eskom cause load shedding?
Because its ageing, poorly maintained coal power stations have struggled to reliably meet national electricity demand, forcing scheduled blackouts to protect the grid; the frequency of load shedding has decreased significantly since its 2022–2023 peak.
Is Eskom publicly traded?
No, it is wholly state-owned and not listed on any stock exchange.
Where is Eskom headquartered?
Sunninghill, Johannesburg, South Africa.
When was Eskom founded?
1923, as the Electricity Supply Commission.