First power from Medupi in 2013: Gigaba

Power utility Eskom's new Medupi coal-fired plant will begin feeding electricity into the national grid from the second half of next year, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Friday.

Delays in the start-up of the station's first 800MW unit -- construction of the dry-cooled station started in mid-2007 -- could be attributed to geotechnical, labour, and design and construction issues, he said in a written reply to a parliamentary question.

"The labour delays were a result of a number of strikes during 2010 and 2011 by employees of the contractors, which subsequently resulted in delays caused by labour disputes.

"The design delays were as a result of certain critical civil designs, which were not concluded timeously for construction. The construction delays experienced in the boiler area were attributable to structural steelwork design, manufacturing, logistics and construction."

It was initially planned that Medupi would come on line as early as last year. The power station is situated near Lephalale in Limpopo.

Gigaba said in terms of the contract it had, "Eskom has relief against the contractor" in terms of delay damages and performance guarantees, among others.

However, the liability was limited.

"Based on the current programme, it is expected that Medupi will begin producing electricity from its first unit in the second half of 2013," he said.