Andre de Ruyter, the chief executive of South Africa's State power utility Eskom, will leave the company with immediate effect, Eskom said on Wednesday.

Eskom said in a statement that the decision was taken following a special meeting between the company's board and De Ruyter.

"The board... resolved that... he will be released from his position with immediate effect," it said.

De Ruyter had already resigned from the struggling utility in December, but had agreed to stay on the job till March 31 as the utility tried to find a replacement.

Debt-saddled Eskom has struggled for years to meet electricity demand in South Africa, leading to public frustration, damaging businesses and prompting calls for resignations at the company.

It is currently implementing the worst level of power cuts the country has yet seen.

Earlier on Wednesday, the South African government said it plans to take on more than half of Eskom's R423-billion debt over the next three years to help strengthen its balance sheet and operations and enable it to restructure.