• Building to required cost, time, and specifications (quality)
• Managing competition for resources, capacity/capability of suppliers
• Ensuring the availability of required skills
• Managing the availability and cost of primary energy
• Prioritising projects in progress
• Managing safety
• Communication and stakeholder management

• Managing cost and availability of primary energy – special focus on supplier capability
• Monitoring and influencing of legislation/regulation affecting the awarding of mining rights
• Constant interaction with stakeholders to reserve coal deposits for electricity generation
• Building, testing, and maintaining contingencies for significant and prolonged fuel supply disruptions
• Analysis of the changing dynamics in the South African coal mining industry
• Review of the long-term coal supply strategy to ensure alignment with all the changing coal and electricity supply industry dynamics.  This includes an analysis of the relevant power station and coal mine life extension programmes
• Putting a strategy in place to deal with the complexities of coal transportation

• Introduction of independent power producers and independent system operator/Transmission system operator
• Improved clarity of licensing and EIA process
• Finalisation of regulations, including expropriation of land required for electricity purposes
• Access to coal reserves for electricity generation
• Moving on nuclear strategy and the policy related to cogeneration
• Demand-side management policy and requirements
• Climate change strategy

• Significant focus on Eskom’s credit rating to mitigate the possible reduction thereof and to understand the impact
• Engagements with Nersa on current and future price increases
• Transparency of business assumptions and integration thereof into the financial plan
• Monitoring of the macroeconomic impact of the build programme
• Review of funding and capital structure of Eskom
• Effective short-, medium-, and long-term planning
• The establishment of effective partnerships with all stakeholders

• The building of new assets and the management of integration across all business areas
• Driving the performance of the existing generation, transmission, and distribution assets.  This includes enhanced maintenance management and awareness of potential areas of system constraints and business continuity and emergency planning
• The strengthening of Eskom’s planning and related processes and skills development
• Influencing national policy development and planning for the electricity supply industry
• The management of customer demand through demand-side management and the control of new connections
• The enhancement of Eskom’s resilience to deal with large shocks to the system
• The improved coordination and integration of power system processes and support systems to improve short-term security of supply and Eskom’s ability to respond to system failure
• FIFA World Cup – 2010

• Stakeholder engagement on policy and regulatory issues and regulatory compliance
• Continuous monitoring of the regulatory environment and the impact thereof on Eskom
• Interaction with Nersa as part of the forum for energy executives
• Focus on the current MYPD (multi-year pricing determination) process

• Continuous engagement with government on EDI restructuring and ownership and control of REDs
• Compensation for assets and key customers
• Loss of key customers
• National pricing framework

• Demonstration of competence, commitment, and service delivery through a high level of customer satisfaction
• Consistency in communications and the management of stakeholders/customers
• Showing respect for the views and positions of stakeholders/customers
• Demonstrating that Eskom is a caring organisation
• High and visible levels of empathy

• Ensuring alignment between short-, medium-, and long-term planning, and apply risk management to develop mitigation strategies
• Systems thinking will be utilised to manage conflicting objectives and improve risk models.  The system reliability and system resilience value chains have been redefined

• Alignment of skills pipeline to meet the future needs of the business
• Strategies to acquire, develop, and retain skills
• Assessing and implementing retention strategies for all critical skills

Areas of focus/Monitoring

• Diversification away from coal through nuclear, renewables, imports, and gas
• Coal generation capacity, delivery infrastructure, supply infrastructure, costs, customers, and reputation
• International collaboration and leadership in climate change in South Africa
• Adaptation

• Cost and availability of coal, liquid fuels, uranium, and water, exposure to crude oil prices, and exchange rate fluctuations
• Future power generation technology uncertainty and its impact on new and existing coal stations
• Global strategic shift of South African mining companies to high-risk, high-return projects and cross-shareholding between mining houses with decreased competition

• Managing the capital structure – long-term credit rating, strength of balance sheet, regulatory environment
• Funding and ability to finance future assets,
• Sustainable regulatory returns

• EDI restructuring and ownership and control of REDs
• Future market structure, power purchase agreements, environmental policy, water policy, exports and imports, Asgisa, etc
• Policy on long-term electricity planning processes (nuclear, gas, coal reserves, renewables, etc)

• Younger workforce profile not having long dwell times in one organisation
• New skills required for change in business processes (renewable energies, carbon trading)
• Changes in skills set required due to introduction of different technologies (nuclear, renewables, for example, solar, wind, ocean currents, wave)
• Different skills-set requirements due to organisational life-cycle changes