The Powerline and Substation Association

Mr. Jan Oberholzer

Jan Oberholzer is a renowned and highly respected professional in the electricity industry in South Africa, Africa and abroad.

Jan joined Mulilo Energy Holdings (Pty) Ltd, a prominent South African independent power producer as a non – executive director and chairman of its board of directors in September 2023. With an extensive background in the energy sector and a proven track record of leading large organisations and delivering complex projects and bringing the much-needed expertise to Mulilo’s leadership team.

He re-joined Eskom Holdings, South Africa’s power utility, as the Group Chief Operating Officer in July 2018 to April 2023. In this role he was tasked with leading the operations activities of the Eskom Group, comprising of the Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Nuclear and Capital Expansion Divisions including Eskom Rotek Industries. In addition, he also oversaw the Risk & Sustainability portfolio and the Research, Testing & Development portfolio of Eskom, and after his official retirement, he was contracted back into Eskom as a Project Director in an oversight and advisory capacity until the end of July 2023.

Before returning to Eskom in 2018, he was an independent professional for several years, sharing his broad experience in business and performance management, business development, capital programme and project & construction management in the African Power Industry.

In addition, he also gained invaluable experience and expertise in the Zambian electricity industry as Country Director for the Norwegian Company SN Power ACA Limited (Southern Africa – resident in Zambia), leading the management and development of SN Power’s assets, activities and projects in Zambia and neighbouring countries.

Jan also expanded his portfolio in the private and construction sectors as Managing Director of the Mechanical, Electrical & Instrumentation and Power Business at Stefanutti Stocks Holdings Limited for five years. Stefanutti Stocks is a major multi-disciplinary competitor in the first-tier construction sector in Southern Africa, with the capability to manage a range of projects of any scale.

During his previous tenure of 26 years at Eskom, Jan garnered immense tacit knowledge and hands-on experience up to the end of 2008 where, at the time, as a senior executive, he led the approximately 18 000 MW generation and transmission capital expansion programme of Eskom. During the middle to late 90s he also successfully managed one of the largest electrification programmes in the world.

International Keynote Addresses

Jan has been a keynote speaker at numerous National and International Conferences, including the South Africa Power Summit, Chamber of Commerce, Power and Electricity World, South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE), Consulting Engineer South Africa, South African Mining Coal Indaba, South African Agri Forum, BIXPO (International Expo of Electric Power Technology), Energy Leaders’ Summit and the Electrical Power Research Institute, to name a few.

Qualifications and Directorships

Jan holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pretoria, a master’s in business leadership from the University of South Africa and successfully completed an Executive Leadership Programme at the University of Michigan (USA) and was amongst others, a board member of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI – USA) until his recent retirement from Eskom