Cape Town – Eskom’s Kusile Unit 3, which was impacted by stack collapses at the power station a year ago, has been returned to service two months ahead of schedule.
This will boost power generation by 800 MW once it reaches full capacity, potentially alleviating some of the load shedding issues in South Africa.
“Eskom is pleased to announce that the first unit, amongst the three impacted by the collapse of stacks in October 2022, is returned to service today.
“Kusile Power Station Unit 3 is returned to service two months ahead of schedule and will improve the available generation capacity by 800 MW’s once loaded to full capacity.
“This marks a significant milestone in Eskom’s efforts to reduce and ultimately end load shedding,” the power utility said.
Saturday, 30 September 2023:
Eskom is pleased to announce that the first unit, amongst the three impacted by the collapse of stacks in October 2022, is returned to service today. Kusile Power Station Unit 3 is returned to service two months ahead of schedule and will…
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) September 30, 2023
According to News24, the switch-on was approved after Eskom received the necessary Atmospheric Emission Licence from the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment and the Nkangala District Municipality.
However, there was controversy surrounding this decision as civil society groups had appealed the minister’s decision to allow Eskom to operate Kusile’s Units 1 – 3 without certain pollution controls temporarily, the report said.
The exemption granted to Eskom allows them to use temporary stacks without these controls until March 2025 while permanent stack repairs are undertaken to expedite the units’ return to service.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
