Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned power utility, has achieved a significant milestone in its efforts to improve generation capacity. Unit 5 at the troubled Kusile power station, which was previously affected by a fire in 2022, has been synchronized to the national grid for the first time.
This development is expected to contribute an additional 800MW to the country’s electricity grid, providing some relief to Eskom’s ongoing struggles with power generation. The synchronization of Unit 5 took place at 17:22 on Sunday, December 31, 2023.
According to Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena, the unit will supply electricity intermittently during the testing and optimization phase over the next six months. After this period, it will be transferred into commercial operation, and its capacity will officially be added to Eskom’s current fleet.
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“The unit will contribute an additional 800MW to the country’s power system, which was never part of Eskom’s grid capacity,” Mokwena stated. This boost in electricity generation comes at a crucial time, as Eskom has been grappling with a shortage of capacity, resulting in frequent load shedding across the country.
The Kusile power station faced a setback in October 2022 when the Kusile West stack failed, leading to the decommissioning of three generating units (units 1, 2, and 3). This failure, similar to a chimney, disrupted the channel for exhausting gases from the power station.
As a result, Eskom lost approximately 2,100MW of generation capacity, equivalent to about two stages of load shedding.
Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom’s Group Executive for Generation, emphasized the significance of the synchronization of Kusile Unit 5, calling it a “significant milestone of sustainably improving generation performance.”
He further highlighted the recent return of three units to the grid, which added a total of 3,200MW, as a positive development in strengthening South Africa’s electricity capacity.
The addition of Unit 5’s capacity brings hope to South Africans, according to Eskom’s Acting Group Chief Executive. The focus remains on enhancing the performance of the Generation fleet to reduce the impact of load shedding nationwide and minimize the costs associated with supplementing capacity using diesel-powered plants.
Eskom also provided updates on the progress of construction and commissioning activities at Unit 6 of the Kusile power station. Once completed, the station will consist of six units, with a maximum capacity of 4,800MW.
Additionally, repair works on the permanent stack for units 1, 2, and 3 are progressing well, and efforts are underway to bring Medupi Unit 4 back into service by the end of July 2024.
The successful completion of Kusile Unit 5, along with the return of the three Kusile units and the potential reactivation of Medupi Unit 4, will further improve energy availability and support Eskom’s Generation Recovery Plan.
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