Ramokgopa bets on Kusile as load-shedding mitigator

Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said on Sunday that returning to service units 1, 2 and 3 of the Kusile power station could bolster South Africa’s energy capacity and alleviate load-shedding in the short term. 

“We are now able to turn the corner in relation to additional capacity. I indicated in our last briefing that the Kusile units are going to be indispensable to the resolution of this problem, and in the short term to help reduce the intensity of load-shedding,” he said during his weekly briefing. 

Unit three – which will improve available generation capacity to 800MWs once at full capacity – was returned to service two months earlier than expected and is currently producing 550MW. 

Units one and two are expected to come online before the end of November. 

Eskom said in a press statement prior to the minister’s briefing that the return of unit three was part of the reason for the load-shedding suspension on Saturday and Sunday. Stage two load-shedding will kick in on Monday at 4pm. 

The three units were impacted by a stack collapse in October last year. 

The return of all three units is viewed by Eskom and the minister as crucial to keeping load-shedding under stage six throughout summer. 

The unit three switch on was done after the utility was granted a deviation from the Atmospheric Emission Licence by the minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment. The exemption will stand until April 2025, meaning there will be an increase in sulphur dioxide emissions being pumped into the air.

The minister has said previously that Eskom will do whatever is needed to minimise SO2 emissions, and while it was not adhering to the parameters for SO2 emissions, it was meeting all other parameters.  

Ramokgopa emphasised the crucial role that the Kusile units would play in resolving the energy crisis. The three units that were taken offline for repairs each contribute about 800 MW to the grid. 

The decision left South Africa grappling with a loss of 2400 megawatts, and the reduced capacity was acutely felt, particularly during the winter months when electricity demand surged. 

“This is the kind of progress we are making, and I am sure that the South African economy and households will be relieved to know that we are making significant progress,” he said. 

Bringing Kusile’s units online could potentially reduce load-shedding by three stages. 

Plagued by corruption, bad management and ballooning costs, the Mpumalanga-based power station – construction of which started in 2008 – was designed to have six generating units of 800 MW each, but only four are in commercial service. 

Lesego Chepape is a climate reporting fellow, funded by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa.

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