Eskom’s Kusile fire-ravaged Unit 5 syncs to grid for first time

Unit 5 at Eskom’s problematic Kusile power station, which was affected by a fire in 2022 is expected to contribute an additional 800MW to the country’s electricity grid Eskom said.

This is good news for the country as Eskom struggles with generation capacity.

The power utility synchronised Unit 5 of the Kusile Power Station to the national grid for the first time at 17:22 on Sunday, 31 December 2023.

More power

Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said unit 5 will supply electricity intermittently during the testing and optimisation phase over the next six months before being transferred into  commercial operation and the capacity officially added to the current Eskom fleet.

“The unit will contribute an additional 800MW to the country’s power system which was never part of the Eskom’s grid capacity.”

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In October 2022,  the Kusile West stack failed, causing three generating units (units 1, 2 and 3) to be decommissioned.

Eskom explained the duct failure was similar to a chimney, providing a channel for exhausting gases from the power station.

The parastatal lost about 2 100MW of generation capacity, equivalent to about two stages of load shedding.

More new units

Eskom’s Group Executive for  Generation Bheki Nxumalo said the synchronisation of Kusile Unit 5 marks a “significant milestone of sustainably improving  generation performance.”

“We are encouraged that that this achievement of our recovery plan immediately follow the  return of the three units that were brought online from end September 2023, bringing a total  of 3 200MW into the grid, which will further improve the energy availability factor (EAF) and  help strengthen South Africa’s electricity capacity.”

Eskom’s Acting Group Chief Executive said the addition of the unit’s capacity would bring hope to South Africans.

“We remain focused on improving the performance of the Generation fleet  to reduce the impact of loadshedding felt countrywide, and to lessen the costs on  supplementing capacity using the diesel-powered plant.”

Medupi

Eskom added said progress is also being made on the remaining construction and commissioning activities at unit 6  and at completion, the station will consist of six units which will produce a maximum 4 800MW.

“Also on a positive note, repair works to the permanent stack for units 1, 2 and 3 are progressing well. Intensified efforts are also being made to return Medupi Unit 4 to service by  end July 2024.

“This, together with the successful completion of Kusile Unit 5 and the return of  the three Kusile units will further improve the energy availability and give impetus to Eskom’s  Generation Recovery Plan,” Eskom said.

Kusile units one, two and three returned to service over the past few months while Eskom brought unit four unit 4 online for the first time almost exactly two years ago.

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