Pretoria – The coming into full commercial operation of Unit 6 of the Medupi Power Station at Lephalale in Limpopo has been welcomed by Cabinet.
President Jacob Zuma is expected to launch the unit on 30 August 2015.
The Medupi Power Station Project is a greenfield coal-fired power plant comprising six units rated in total at 4 764 MW installed capacity.
The construction of the Medupi Power Station started in May 2007. The power station is contributing 800 megawatts (MW) of power into the national grid.
In a statement released on Friday following its ordinary meeting this week, Cabinet said the commercial operation of Unit 6 of the Medupi Power Station was a critical milestone in government’s effort to build new generating capacity.
Unit 6 was first synchronised to the national grid on 2 March 2015 and has been supplying electricity to the national grid intermittently while undergoing regular optimisation tests.
“During this period Unit 6 has been able to alleviate pressure on the national electricity system, helping to either avoid load shedding altogether or minimise its severity.
“The unit’s commercial operation has been achieved well within the normally stipulated period of six months after first synchronisation,” Cabinet said.
Cabinet said that all six units are expected to be operational in the first half of 2019.
Once completed, it 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.
Koeberg shut down for maintenance
Cabinet also announced that on Monday, Unit 2 of the Koeberg Power Station in the Western Cape will be shut down for planned maintenance.
The unit is expected to return to service after three months.
“The scheduled shutdown of Koeberg Unit 2 is part of Eskom’s overall maintenance programme for its fleet of power stations.
“Every 16 to 18 months, each of the two units at Koeberg is shut down for refueling, inspection and maintenance,” said Cabinet.
It added that the routine shutdowns are scheduled so as to avoid having both units out of service at the same time and to avoid the winter months in each year.
“Cabinet further appreciated the current constraints the country still faces on the power supply. While loadshedding is regrettable, Eskom is committed to perform the necessary maintenance to improve the long-term health of our plants with reasonable disruptions.”
Cabinet called on South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly while the country continues to make progress in improving electricity generation capacity. – SAnews.gov.za
