- Eskom implemented Stage 6 load shedding after months of reduced power cuts as breakdowns increased above 16,000MW with more than 5,000MW of generation capacity out of service.
- Kusile and Koeberg nuclear power stations are the most significant contributors to the ongoing energy crisis, taking at least 3,000MW from Eskom’s generation capacity.
The Minister of Electricity, South Africa, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has said the misfiring Kusile power station in Witbank, Mpumalanga, will end higher load shedding stages. Kusile is a multi-billion rand 3,200 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station where several generation units are not operating. This is after a section of the flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) duct, which carries emissions from Kusile Unit 1 into a large chimney, collapsed in October 2022, contributing roughly two load-shedding stages.
Kusile and Koeberg nuclear power stations are the most significant contributors to the ongoing energy crisis, taking at least 3,000MW from Eskom’s generation capacity. Ramokgopa said he will visit Kusile today, where he expects to announce the timelines set to return some units into service at the power station.
“We make the point that Kusile sits on a critical path. It gives us a path to end load shedding. We will give you an extensive brief next week Sunday, but then tomorrow, we are at Kusile, and we have invited you to come and share with you the kind of progress that we’re making. Seeing is believing, and you have to see that we’re making the kind of progress that we had promised to make. In fact, I’m confident that Mr [Bheki] Nxumalo and the team are even exceeding those targets. But let’s wait for tomorrow to get that formal briefing. We should be in a position to make a formal announcement,” Ramokgopa added.
Last week, Eskom implemented Stage 6 load shedding after months of reduced power cuts as breakdowns increased above 16,000MW whilst more than 5,000MW of generation capacity was out of service. Some analysts suggested that Eskom encountered Stage 7 load-shedding on Wednesday evening, marking the most severe level recorded, despite no official announcement. Ramokgopa, however, acknowledged that Eskom suffered a “significant setback” in generation capacity last week. He said that deploying experts to relevant power stations averted a catastrophe.