The Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has announced that the power grid is set to be bolstered by the end of August with the return of several generating units.
PRETORIA – The Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has announced that the power grid is set to be bolstered by the end of August with the return of several generating units.
“We are expecting Medupi Unit 4 to give us 800MW [megawatts] and to fire up Kusile Unit 6, which is another 800MW. We are hoping to get an extension of life of Koeberg Unit 2 … We are not complacent. We are doing everything by the book and we are still optimistic about getting that extension of life, and it will give us an additional 980MW.
“We do expect that by the end of August this year, just from the Eskom fleet, we should be getting an additional 2,500MW,” he said.
Despite these optimistic projections, the minister urged caution, emphasising that load shedding remains a concern.
“I really want to caution that load shedding is not behind us. In the next three weeks or so Eskom will be sharing what the summer outlook is.
“We are still buoyant about the performance of these generation plants, but, having said that, we need to caution against any early declaration to decree load shedding is behind us.
“We are doing everything possible to resolve this question, and the numbers indicate that we are within touching distance,” Ramokgopa said.
The Minister specifically mentioned the Tutuka, Kendal, and Kriel power stations.
“Tutuka has experienced a significant amount of challenges over a period of time … but we are seeing results now. Just this period, from March to August, the unplanned capacity loss factor (UCLF) has reduced by 29%. That’s significant from where Tutuka started; they’ve moved from 2,411MW to 949MW.
“At Kendal, there were major issues with regard to exceeding the emissions standards, so there [were] a number of interventions that had to be made. Today… we were able to reduce the [UCLF] from 2,500MW out and now we’re sitting at about 919MW.
“We have seen exceptional results at Kriel, with the reduction in the UCLF having gone down 53% from 1,400MW to about 508MW,” the minister said.
He noted that a change in leadership has significantly altered the course of those stations.
“The people issues do matter and the Eskom leadership has taken that into account. The fact that you place the most seasoned, loyal and patriotic individuals at the helm of those power stations has given us the kind of results that are required,” Ramokgopa said.
Source: SAnews.gov.za
