Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has described Eskom’s return to service of Kusile Power Station’s Unit 1, two months ahead of schedule, as a “critical milestone” for the country’s economic recovery.
The return of the unit, which had been out of commission together with unit 2 and 3 since August 2022, following safety concerns with the structural integrity of the stack, comes two months ahead of schedule and adds 800 megawatts to the grid.
“This marks significant overall improvements to generation performance with Kusile Unit 3, which came back online on 29 September, also returning back to service two months ahead of schedule.
“The third of the units (Unit 2) is now expected to similarly return to service in November, whilst Unit 5 will come into commercial operation in December,” Ramokgopa said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The return of the Kusile units represents a critical milestone in our quest to recover South Africa’s economy, protecting jobs, advancing universal access and improving the quality of life.”
Ramokgopa said he remained focused on bolstering the country's electricity generating capacity by accelerating the expansion of transmission infrastructure to accommodate new renewable generation capacity.
