Unit 4 of Kusile Power station returns to service – Ramokgopa

Ramokgopa

Cape Town – Kusile Power Station’s Unit 4 has resumed operations, adding 800 megawatts of electricity back into the grid after undergoing a 20-day planned maintenance period.

The announcement was made by the Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa during a media briefing on the country’s Energy Action Plan on Sunday. 

The return of Unit 4 helps offset the 800-megawatt reduction caused by the ongoing maintenance of other Eskom units at the Mpumalanga-based power station. Units 1, 2, and 3 were taken offline due to damage to their flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) mechanism in October of the previous year.

These units are expected to be back in operation between October and the end of November 2023.

“We’ve been able to shed a month on the return of unit 3 and the expectation is that we should be able to return this unit by 14 October. The same is applicable for unit 1. We should be able to get it on 30 October,” Ramokgopa said.

The minister said that Kusile Power Station is vital for addressing the issue of load shedding in the country, as additional generating capacity is needed to mitigate the power shortages.

South Africa has recently experienced various stages of load shedding, including Stage 6.

Eskom, the state-owned electricity provider, announced that due to improved generation capacity, Stage 2 load shedding would be implemented from 4 pm to 4 pm the following day, followed by Stage 4 load shedding from 4 pm to 5 am, and then Stage 2 load shedding from 5 am to 4 pm on a daily basis until further notice.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu

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