The company building most of South Africa’s government-funded battery energy storage systems (BESS) is chaired by former Eskom chief operating officer (COO) Jan Oberholzer.

Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa recently announced Mulilo Energy as the preferred bidder for four out of five BESS projects in the Free State.

The projects are part of the third round battery-powered

The projects are part of the third round of the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP).

The program aims to strategically deploy cost-effective batteries near substations nationwide to store excess electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind power when available.

The stored energy can then be discharged during high-demand periods like the early evening to act as peaking stations, like open-cycle gas turbines or pumped storage schemes.

Four facilities Battery powered

Three of the four facilities Mulilo will build from the latest bid window will have a peak 123 MW output and 492 492 MWh of energy storage. The remaining facility will have a 124 MW/496 MWh specification.

The ratio of output and storage means that the facilities will be capable of discharging at their full capacity for up to four hours.

Mulilo previously also secured preferential bid status in five of the eight projects in the second BESIPPPP window and as co-developer in three of the five winning projects in the first bid window.

The company’s battery projects will have a combined capacity of 1,134 MW, or 1.134 GW, sufficient to stave off roughly one stage of load-shedding. Their energy storage will top 4.5 GWh.

The capacity of Mulilo’s stations will make up 65% of the total 1,744 1,744MW capacity from all providers in the BESSIPPP program.

The company also operates 420 MW of wind and solar power stations and has another 764 MW of renewable capacity under construction.

Read More: Eskom’s best plan to nail solar users in South Africa (2025).

The table below provides a breakdown

The table below provides a breakdown of the projects for which Mulilo Energy has won preferential bid status, ranked by capacity.

Tapping into Oberholzer’s experience

Oberholzer was appointed chairman at Mulilo in September 2023, just a few months after leaving Eskom.

The winners of all three bid windows were chosen after his appointment, but the first bid window was already underway when Oberholzer joined Mulilo.

Mulilo co-founder and CEO Johnny Cullum said Oberholzer’s deep understanding of the energy industry and his passion for a just energy transition made him the ideal leader for Mulilo’s strategic direction.

“Under his guidance, we are confident in our ability to further accelerate our contributions to a cleaner, more sustainable future underpinning economic and just growth for all South Africans,” said Cullum.

Oberholzer continued to provide consulting services to Eskom for roughly another year after his resignation, which makes sense considering his extensive experience.

Eskom’s chief operating officer for five years

While he was Eskom’s chief operating officer for five years, his career at the company spanned three decades. He also benefited from his father’s experience, who was an Eskom employee for 26 years.

When André de Ruyter became Eskom’s chief executive officer in January 2020, Oberholzer was widely regarded as his “right-hand man.”

Oberholzer would regularly flank De Ruyter at press conferences and impromptu video conferences about the state of the battery power utility’s system during the worst years of load-shedding.

In an interview with BizNews, Oberholzer described De Ruyter as a very good friend and business colleague but was blunt about the challenges he experienced.

“He was an exceptional businessman, make no mistake. The shortcoming he had was that he was a lawyer,” Oberholzer said.

“I’m not saying lawyers are a shortcoming, but from a technical point of view, he had some challenges, although he did fairly well in my view.”

Oberholzer argued that if De Ruyter’s team had been left to do what they believed was right, Eskom would have made positive progress.

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