Dr Grové Steyn

Grové is the Managing Director of Meridian Economics, an energy and infrastructure economics advisory firm based in Cape Town. Grové is a prominent infrastructure and regulatory economist in South Africa with more than 25 years’ experience in the electricity, gas and liquid fuels sectors. In December 2018 President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed him to the Eskom Sustainability Task Team while 2019 the President appointed him to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

He started his career as an industrial engineer at Eskom and has worked as an energy and power sector policy researcher at the University of Cape Town; at the former National Electricity Regulator (NER); at the Human Sciences Research Council; as a senior policy and economic advisor to Government and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA); as a regulatory advisor to Transnet; and as an infrastructure and regulatory expert for private sector infrastructure operators and in energy sector commercial and regulatory litigation.

He was the primary author of the Electricity chapter of the 1998 Energy Policy White Paper and was a central player in earlier attempts to restructure Eskom in 2000, including developing detail restructuring proposals for the Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs and the Department of Public Enterprises, and negotiating reform proposals with Eskom. Grové also served on the Liquid Fuels Windfall Tax Task Team appointed by then Finance Minister Trevor Manual.

His current professional interests are focussed on accelerating the just energy transition and establishing a large renewable energy programme at the centre of a green stimulus to secure South Africa’s post Covid-19 recovery.

Grove’s doctorate (DPhil, Sussex) examined power sector reform in the UK and South Africa. He also holds a BIng (Ind. Eng.) from the University of Stellenbosch, a BA (Econ. and Soc.) from Unisa, and an MSc (Eng.) Energy Studies from the University of Cape Town.