Hendrik Johannes van der Bijl FRS was a South African electrical engineer and industrialist and is regarded as one of the greatest South Africans for his contribution to the country's development. He was the driving force behind the establishment of the South African electricity utility company Eskom and the South African Steel and Iron Corporation ISCOR.
Collection of early triode vacuum tubes belonging to American inventor Lee De Forest, the inventor of the triode, from 1920 (Picture from: Hendrik van der Bijl "Practical operation of thermionic detectors" in Scientific American )
One of Eskom's coal-fired power stations, Arnot
Rooivalk attack helicopter produced by ARMSCOR
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom (Afrikaans: Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie) is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the largest producer of electricity in Africa, and was among the top utilities in the world in terms of generation capacity and sales. It is the largest of South Africa's state owned enterprises. Eskom operates a number of notable power stations, including Matimba Power Station and Medupi Power Station in Lephalale, Kusile Power Station in Witbank, Kendal Power Station, and Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in the Western Cape Province, the only nuclear power plant in Africa.
Arnot Power Station completed in 1975 was one of the first of the "six-pack" coal-fired power plants built during this period that Eskom was well known for.
Construction work on the Medupi (pictured) and Kusile coal-fired power stations was started in the 2007-2019 period as part of Eskom's capacity expansion program following the energy crisis.
Eskom Generation's pilot wind farm facility at Klipheuwel in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Eskom executives including Phakamani Hadebe (CEO), front row second from the left, and Jan Oberholzer (CTO), front row far left, at a 2019 public forum in Cape Town on Eskom's financial situation.
