Staff Writer24 February 2023SubscribeEmbattled national power utility Eskom has announced the appointment of Calib Cassim as the interim group CEO with immediate effect.Cassim was appointed as Eskom’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in November 2018 after serving as acting CFO from July 2017.According to Eskom, Cassim will lead the Eskom management team until further notice.He is a registered Chartered Accountant (SA) and holds a master’s degree in Business Leadership (MBL). He has over 20 years of service at Eskom.“His qualifications and extensive experience have provided Mr Cassim with a deep understanding and appreciation of the Eskom business and the electricity industry, especially regarding the challenges facing the financing of operations and future expansion of the industry,” the group said.The appointment of Cassim comes two days after the former CEO Andre de Ruyter stepped down from the company with immediate effect following an explosive interview where he alleged political infighting and corruption were hampering progress at the company.On 22 February, the Eskom board and de Ruyter reached a mutual agreement to curtail his notice period. The former CEO originally intended to resign at the end of March this year.South Africa is facing continual rolling blackouts that are reaching record highs – crumbling the economy and stalling business.The same day that De Ruyter’s step down was announced, the company briefly entered stage 7 load shedding – this was not reflected on the official schedule, however.According to information provided by Eskom’s spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha, the power utility shed over 7,000MW of power that Wednesday evening.He subsequently confirmed that it was technically stage 7 load shedding.