Eskom Chief Operating Officer Jan Oberholzer expressed his support towards the Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s plan to buy Hendrina Power Station from Eskom, to provide uninterrupted electricity supply to Middelburg and its surrounding areas.

The plant will be entirely decommissioned in 2024, with the first unit shut down next year.

Komati has been repurposed but Oberholzer told attendees of a recent meeting that Eskom has agreed to a different path for Hendrina, by allowing independent operators to table their plans for the plant.

It will be a public process, however, with multiple presentations expected once Eskom invites proposals.

Oberholzer, who is in regular consultation with President Cyril Ramaphosa, promised to relay the chamber’s intentions to the highest office, where he believes a newly-appointed minister of electricity will be the catalyst to unite government departments, like the treasury and mineral resources, to not only reshape Eskom into different entities but to loosen the monopoly Eskom has had on power generation in the country.

The Hendrina plant can be repurposed into a gas generating facility, which Oberholzer said he’s also fully in agreement with.

Despite his continued support for coal-powered stations, due to the country’s abundance of quality coal, he says alternative energy sources should be fully explored.

Oberholzer has less than a month left in office but says he will personally advocate for Middelburg, and assist wherever he can to have the chamber’s plan to overtake Hendrina succeed.

“We need more towns like this,” he said.