Eskom boosts power grid! Kusile Unit 6 adds 800MW – Is load shedding over?

Eskom

Cape Town – Eskom has added Unit 6 of Kusile Power Station to the national grid, marking a key milestone in its goal to add 2,500MW by March 2025.

The unit, brought online on Sunday, will undergo testing for six months before full integration.

Once fully operational, Kusile will contribute 4,800MW, making it South Africa’s largest power project. Medupi’s Unit 4 is also set to return 800MW by April 2025.

“Kusile Power Station will contribute a total of 4 800MW to the national grid once all units are fully operational, making it South Africa’s largest infrastructure project. Its sister project, Medupi, will see its Unit 4 return 800MW by the end of April 2025 from an extended outage following a generator stator failure and the completion of the project,” Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said.


He added: “Meeting the targets we set in the Generation Recovery Plan and our strategic roadmap underscores our determination to deliver new capacity, enhance generation performance, support economic growth, and ultimately deliver a more sustainable energy future. We reiterate our commitment to ensuring that South Africa is in no way returning to the levels of load shedding that we experienced in 2023 and, our focus remains on delivering a more reliable, resilient, and sustainable power system for the country.”

Kusile is the first power station in Africa to implement Wet Flue Gas Desulphurisation (WFGD) technology, reducing sulphur dioxide emissions.

“Eskom is at a critical point returning megawatts to the grid as we are currently in a constrained state. This milestone is a testament to the unwavering dedication and resilience of Eskom’s employees and contractors.

“Their commitment has driven us forward despite numerous challenges. As we celebrate this progress, our focus is now on ensuring that Unit 6 achieves commercial operation in the second half of 2025, further strengthening South Africa’s energy security,” added Eskom Group Executive for Generation, Bheki Nxumalo.

Eskom executives emphasise that this progress is crucial in stabilising the power supply and avoiding a return to severe load shedding.

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