Load shedding lighter, but not completely solved

This is the first super-critical power plant unit to be successfully built and operated in the new democratic dispensation.

The Medupi Power Station is a coal-fired power plant comprising of six units rated in total at 4 764 megawatts (MW) installed capacity.

Construction activities commenced in May 2007 and the power station is planned to be fully installed by 2019.

Once completed, the power station will be the fourth largest coal-fired plant and the largest dry-cooled power station in the world.

The planned operational life of the power station is 50 years.

Unit six was first synchronised to the national grid on March 2 and has been producing electricity to the national grid intermittently whilst undergoing regular optimisation tests.

During this period, the unit has been able to alleviate pressure on the national electricity system, helping to either avoid load shedding altogether or minimising its severity.

The unit’s commercial operation has been achieved, well within the normally stipulated period of six months after first synchronisation.

“The commercial operation of unit six of the Medupi Power Station is a critical milestone in our effort to build new generating capacity to meet South Africa’s rising electricity demand,” says Eskom‘s acting chief executive Brian Molefe.

“Our capacity expansion programme, which is the largest in our history, will increase our generation capacity by 17 384MW, transmission lines by 9 756km and substation capacity by 42 470MVA once completed in the next five years.”

He adds that since its inception in 2005, the capacity expansion programme so far added 6 237MW of generation capacity, 5 816km of transmission lines and 29 655MVA of substation capacity.

“This will enable us to provide security of electricity supply to South African homes and businesses, powering economic expansion and extending electricity to millions of households who have previously relied on other fuel sources for domestic cooking and heating.”

Abram Masango, Eskom’s acting group executive for group capital, says this mammoth task was accomplished due to the dedicated efforts of all concerned and the calibre of engineers who ensured technical compliance.

“We’ve learned a lot of lessons as we progressed, and we’ve trained people and built up skills that will be useful not only for the remainder of the build project, but also for the South African industry.”