Mpumalanga’s Kusile power station could have its four units all up and running a month sooner than expected, which could mean a drastic reduction in load-shedding from November onwards.
Three of the units went out in October last year, the fourth unit is offline for maintenance, while the fifth, newly completed one is expected to be synchronised by December.
According to the latest updates from Eskom on Sunday, it forecast stage 4 load-shedding for the remainder of the day, adding it hoped it would drop to stage 2 on Wednesday. It would alternate between stages 3 and 4 before that.
South Africa buckled under stage 6 load-shedding most of last week, despite temperatures rising and energy demand reducing.
Eskom estimates planned maintenance would take away generation capacity worth about 5,400MW in October, 5,700MW in November and a staggering 7,600MW in December.
But the good news is that one of the three Kusile units, which went out in October last year when a chimney-like structure partly collapsed, is now expected to be back online by October 31, while the remaining two are scheduled to be up and running by November 30.
All three units, which have for almost a year denied the country more than 2,100MW of power, were initially expected back in December.
Eskom told TimesLIVE Premium that when the “project scope of work became clearer and firmed up, Eskom and the contractors worked closely to accelerate some activities, especially those that could be implemented in parallel”.
The embattled power utility reassured South Africans that higher stages of load-shedding will soon be a thing of the past, putting Mpumalanga’s Kusile power station — which should have relieved South Africa’s energy generation pressures back in 2013 — at the centre of its solutions.
A return of the the Kusile units and a return of one Medupi unit by April 2024 will give us almost 4GW — enough to prevent almost four stages of load-shedding.
— Energy expert Lungile Mashele
None of Kusile’s four generation units are available, with units 1, 2 and 3 out of service since late last year October, effectively denying the country more than 2,000MW of power, while contributing at least two stages of load-shedding.
Eskom said there were many reasons for this, including “different station factors like plant defects, latent and/or operational”.
The unavailability of Kusile units 1, 2 and 3 contributed towards the crippling of SA energy capacity during winter, significantly contributing to the higher load-shedding stages of recent days.
Eskom declined to divulge the cost of the temporary chimney stack to return the three units back to service.
“Given that this involves a third-party contractor whose consent should be sought first, and that the project is still under way, we are unable to share the costs at this stage. We can confirm that the acceleration of the recovery project did not result in any additional costs,” Eskom’s media desk stated on Friday.
The Sunday Times reported in February how Eskom management went against the operational recommendations of their engineers, who had recommended that the three units be run at a reduced output, leading to the flue gas duct collapsing.
Asked if action has been taken against those responsible, Eskom's media desk stated: “The investigations are still under way and it would be premature to share the findings.”
Built with a massive 4,800MW design capacity, Kusile was supposed to have been completed by 2013 but was hit by cost overruns and massive delays. It will be one of the world’s biggest coal-powered stations when completed next year.
Kusile can and will rise to the performance. The three units must come back pending the completion of the redesign process and environmental approvals.
— Energy expert Lungile Mashele
Energy expert Lungile Mashele said it made sense that Eskom pinned its hopes on Kusile as it had no other real alternatives.
“Kusile can and will rise to the performance. The three units must come back pending the completion of the redesign process and environmental approvals,” Mashele said.
Mashele said this was “the only load-shedding reprieve” available in the short-term for the country.
“A return of the three Kusile units and a return of one Medupi unit by April 2024 will give us almost 4GW — enough to prevent almost four stages of load-shedding,” Mashele said.
Meanwhile, Eskom said the process to appoint its group CEO and Andre de Ruyter’s replacement was at an advanced stage, which now awaited government to conduct its review, according to Eskom.
“This is aligned with the memorandum of incorporation (MOI) which requires that once the Eskom board is done with the selection process, they have to obtain shareholders concurrence.
“Given the systemic impact such an appointment has on Eskom and the country, an enhanced due diligence process has had to be conducted.”
