In the third quarter of the 2010 financial year, Eskom’s Regulatory Affairs function was integrated with the company secretary and legal departments to create the Regulation and Governance Unit. The role of the unit is to ensure that Eskom operates within the terms of its licence by providing holistic support on governance, legal and regulatory matters. This support includes shaping the policy and regulatory environment within which Eskom operates.

Regulation

• Refining Eskom’s regulatory strategy
• Co-ordinating its interface with NERSA
• Ensuring regulatory compliance and helping integrate regulatory matters into business decisions throughout the organisation.

• Develop and oversee Eskom’s regulatory strategy
• Identify and prioritise regulatory topics
• Identify and minimise regulatory risk (increase predictability)
• Clarify the roles of corporate versus operating units
• Influence the external energy policy environment
• Build relationships with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa and significant stakeholders
• Co-ordinate and lead discussions with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa on key priorities
• Consolidate submissions in strategic areas
• Provide guidance on inter-operating unit issues to ensure alignment with overall strategy.

The regulatory interface co-ordinating forum, with representation from all the operating units, co-ordinates regulatory matters across Eskom.

Legal

• Provide strategic and objective legal advice and effective business solutions
• Manage legal risk
• Ensure Eskom’s compliance with applicable legislation.

• Enable Eskom to achieve material compliance with international, national, and local laws and regulations (including Eskom’s regulatory licences)
• Position Eskom to achieve its future compliance requirements. The focus is on ensuring that the legal, policy and regulatory framework being put in place allows Eskom to achieve its strategic objectives.

A key focus area of the legal department is to ensure Eskom’s readiness for implementation of the Companies Act (71 of 2008), the Companies Amendment Act 2011 and the Consumer Protection Act 2008.

Company secretary

• Influence and ensure effective governance and secretariat best practices to enable Eskom to be a well-governed, ethical and trusted company.

• Provide an effective secretariat service to the board, Exco and its committees
• Develop governance policies and procedures (including the delegation of authority)
• Develop, implement and monitor governance training programmes
• Identify and implement effective governance best practices
• Ensure the effective flow of information from board, the executive management committee and its committees
• Facilitate Eskom’s readiness for new governance codes and laws including the Companies Act.