Mining Weekly

Newly appointed Energy Council of South Africa CEO James Mackay says he will prioritise initiatives that will help unlock sustainable energy investments in South Africa, which he describes as being at the start of what will be a challenging multidecade transition.

Mackay’s appointment as the council’s inaugural CEO was announced on September 8 and will become effective from Octobe r17.

Established in 2021 following calls by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe for the energy industry to speak with a unified voice, the council’s formation drew some criticism for excluding emerging renewables and storage companies.

All its founding members represent large incumbent firms, including Anglo American, Sasol, Eskom, the Central Energy Fund, Exxaro, the Industrial Development Corporation, TotalEnergies, Toyota and the Automotive Business Council.

However, chairperson Fleetwood Grobler stressed at the launch that emerging companies had not been excluded by design and promised that the council would be broadened in future to ensure greater stakeholder representation.

Mackay tells Engineering News & Mining Weekly that the council will be “technology agnostic” and that he has not experienced any “bad blood” towards the formation during recent engagements with those energy sector practitioners whose companies were not included among the founding members.

“I think there is a broad acknowledgment that the energy transition is going to be difficult and that there is a need for a national organisation to take a leadership role in this space.”

He says the activities of the council will be guided by three key principles, including:

• an acknowledgment of the threat posed by climate change and the need for South Africa to contribute to humanity remaining within “planetary boundaries”;
• an acceptance that technology and innovation will shape the future energy landscape and that, while remaining technology agnostic, the council will favour solutions that are aligned with climate resilience, business sustainability and social justice; and
• that access to finance will be critical to ensuring that the energy transition is implemented at a pace and scale required for security of supply, business and environmental sustainability and greater social equity.

The council, he adds, will be data driven in its decision- making and will seek to play a constructive role in ensuring that South Africa has a vision for the energy transition that is supportive of accelerated investment.

“There’s only one real thing that’s going to move the dial on energy and that’s investment.

“And so, our biggest focus and primary focus is going to be on unlocking investment in energy at all levels,” he says, adding that he is also determined to ensure that more attention is given to demand-side investments.

Mackay will be the council’s first formal employee and he will temporarily lead the organisation from office space donated by Sasol at its head office in Sandton.

“We are acutely aware of our need to be independent, so we will be appointing our own employees and setting up our own offices soon,” he stresses.

Mackay, who has professional qualifications in engineering and finance, has over 20 years of diverse experience in the public and private sectors and has worked extensively across Africa.

He is currently the PwC energy lead with specific focus on energy strategy and net zero and acknowledges that the decision to take up the new role was a difficult one, as he was only recently appointed as a partner.

“It was a tough decision to resign, but the leadership at PwC support me in taking up this new role.”

He tells Engineering News & Mining Weekly that he is looking forward to engaging with and supporting all energy stakeholders, and promises to adopt a “listening attitude” as he does so.

“I’m very committed to being open to opinion, to listening and to understanding how we can work together with all of the other organisations,” he concludes.