Latest news with #Unit6
Eyewitness News
01-05-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Ramokgopa predicts a load shedding free winter
CAPE TOWN - Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is predicting a load shedding free winter. He expects the country's power plants to perform at the same capacity they did last winter, saying there's no reason for performance to regress. READ: Nuclear energy to play key role in lessening SA's carbon footprint: Ramokgopa Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group meeting in Cape Town on Wednesday, Ramokgopa did not want to give too much away, saying he plans to provide a detailed winter outlook next week. "When we went into winter last year, we didn't have Kusile Unit 6, so we didn't have that 800 MW. The second one is that we didn't have Medupi 4. We will have Medupi 4 by the end of May, which has been out for about four years, so it's another 800mw. And then we are going to have the benefits of both Koeberg units. We are anticipating that Koeberg Unit Number 1 is going to come back around in July or so." Ramokgopa says that at the winter peak, the country will have an additional 2500mw of electricity it didn't have last winter. While the energy availability factor was not at optimal levels last month [April], Ramokgopa says the problems have been isolated. "One of the reasons we found is post-outage failure, so you take the unit out on planned maintenance, when it comes back, it still has a significant number of challenges. So that's something the team led by the executive Mr Bheki Nxumalo is addressing. So I really don't foresee that we are going to perform below what we did last year."
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Eskom integrates Kusile's final unit, aiming for 2.5GW by 2025
Eskom has added the final 800MW unit of Kusile power station, Unit 6, to South Africa's national grid. The development represents a milestone in Eskom's strategy to add 2.5GW of new capacity by March 2025. Up to September 2025, Unit 6 will undergo testing and optimisation before being officially added to Eskom's generation fleet. Kusile's sister project, Medupi, is set to return 800MW from Unit 4 by April 2025 after an extended outage due to a generator stator failure. Once Kusile Unit 6 reaches commercial operation, both newbuild power station projects will be in commercial operation. Eskom Group CEO Dan Marokane stated: 'Kusile Unit 6's addition is proof that we are making continued progress in stabilising and strengthening South Africa's electricity supply. 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 re-iterate our commitment to ensuring that South Africa is in no way returning to the levels of load-shedding that we experienced in 2023. Our focus remains on delivering a more reliable, resilient and sustainable power system for the country.' The Kusile power station will contribute 4.8GW when all units are in operation, making it South Africa's largest infrastructure project. The power plant is also the first in the country to implement wet flue gas desulphurisation technology to meet air quality standards. Eskom Group executive for generation Bheki Nxumalo stated: '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.' Eskom remains committed to its Generation Operational Recovery Plan, focusing on governance and sustainability to ensure energy security for South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. In January 2025, Eskom connected the 930MW Unit 2 of the Koeberg nuclear power station to the national grid, advancing the plan. This connection follows a long-term operation programme to extend the unit's life by 20 years, following similar upgrades to Unit 1. "Eskom integrates Kusile's final unit, aiming for 2.5GW by 2025" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
