Cabinet welcomes synchronisation of all units at Ingula

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Pretoria – Cabinet has welcomed the announcement by Eskom that is has synchronised all four units at its new Ingula hydroelectric power plant to the national grid ahead of schedule.

The R25 billion project enhances the country’s future energy security by adding 1 332 megawatts during times of peak demand. Ingula has four units. Each unit will produce 333 megawatts, with the total for the station being 1 332 megawatts.

Ingula successfully synchronised its last unit, Unit 1, to the national grid on 16 June 2016 and the plant is on track for full commercial operation in 2017.

Synchronisation is the process where after construction and commissioning, the unit is connected to the electricity grid for the first time. After synchronisation, further optimisation and testing takes place to ensure that the unit is safe and reliable. The unit is then declared commercial and handed over to the generation division for operation.

The power utility’s Group Chief Executive, Brian Molefe, has dedicated Unit 1 to the memory of Hector Pieterson and the class of 1976.

“In honour of the 40th commemoration of June 16 in South Africa’s history, Eskom dedicates Unit 1 to the memory of Hector Pieterson and the class of ’76, who created a lasting legacy for the youth of the future,” said Molefe.

Once completed in the next five years, Eskom’s capacity expansion programme, which is the largest in the company’s history, will increase generation capacity by 1717 384MW, transmission lines by 9 756km and substation capacity by 42 470 megavolt amps.

This will enable Eskom to provide security of electricity supply to South African homes and businesses, powering economic expansion and extending electricity to millions of households that currently rely on other fuel sources for domestic cooking and heating. – SAnews.gov.za