Dr Rod Crompton (Nelius Rademan/ Beeld).
Dr Rod Crompton is stepping down as non-executive director on the Eskom board, after serving for six years.
In a notice on the stock exchange news service, Eskom indicated that Crompton would be leaving for “personal reasons”.
Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena declined to issue detailed comment on Crompton’s exit, but said that he had been set to leave later in the year.
He was appointed in 2018 along with a new Eskom board that was chaired by the late businessman Jabu Mabuza, as part of an intervention to turn around the power utility following years of state capture.
He was the only director to be retained – to ensure continuity – when Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan appointed a new board in 2022 amid a worsening power crisis. At the time, André De Ruyter was the chief executive.
Prior to joining Eskom, Crompton was a full-time board member at the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, filling that role for 11 years.
He was also previously the deputy director-general at the Department of Minerals and Energy, where he was responsible for hydrocarbons (like oil and gas) and energy planning for nine years. In addition, he previously served on the boards of PetroSA and iGas, among others.
Crompton was also the director of the African Energy Leadership Centre at Wits Business School, and now holds the position of adjunct professor at the institution.
The news comes as Eskom has managed to stave off load shedding for 64 continuous days. The power utility recently hit back at speculations that load shedding would return after election day on 29 May.
Eskom said it would provide a system update on Friday.
* This article has been updated to include a response from Eskom.
