Fourth Kusile unit enters commercial operation
Eskom has announced that Unit 4 of the Kusile Power Station has been handed over to its generation division for commercial operation.
The utility said the handover comes after five months of “vigorous testing and optimisation” of the unit.
It has been intermittently supplying electricity since being synchronised to the grid for the first time on 23 December 2021.
Eskom said the unit has performed to expectation, generating up to 720MW and contributing to reducing the implementation of load-shedding.
It will provide a maximum of 800MW of capacity, 200MW shy of the amount of electricity shed during stage 1 load-shedding.
Unit 4 is the fourth of six generation units to be completed at Kusile, with two more units currently under construction.
Eskom group executive for capital projects, Bheki Nxumalo, thanked Eskom’s guardians and contractors for working hard to deliver the unit into successful commercial operation.
“The Kusile project team and Eskom are working tirelessly to complete the rest of the project without any further delays, as the country needs every megawatt of power it can get,” said Nxumalo.
Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom group executive for capital projects, signs the official handover documentation on Tuesday, 31 May 2022.
Eskom said that the construction and commissioning activities on the remaining Unit 5 and Unit 6 continued to progress according to plan.
The Kusile Power Station construction project is the largest ever in South Africa.
The plant is situated near eMalahleni in Mpumalanga and was initially set to be completed by 2015.
Eskom now only anticipates it will reach full commercial operation in 2024/2025, following years of delays due to alleged corrupt contracts and design flaws.
At completion, Kusile will provide a maximum output of 4,800MW and be the world’s fourth-largest coal power plant.
It will be the first power station in Africa to use wet flue gas desulphurisation technology to remove harmful sulphur oxides from its emissions.
Loading ...