Unit 1 of the Kusile power station project was brought into full commercial operation yesterday (Wednesday), adding 800 megawatts to the national grid.
The unit was completed well ahead of its scheduled commercial operation date of July 2018, says Eskom interim group chief executive, Johnny Dladla.
A statement by the power utility notes that commercial operation is declared once construction and optimisation of the unit has been completed and the operator (Eskom) takes over the plant and runs it on a daily basis.
Kusile is a green-fields coal-fired power plant located near eMalahleni, Mpumalanga, which will be the fourth largest coal plant in the world and has a total planned operational life of 50 years.
