Kusile power station will run below capacity for months after one of its energy generating units suffered severe damage.
Kusile power station Unit 1: Eskom tries to explain what caused damage
Images of the damaged unit surfaced on social media and immediately drew ire from South Africans who’ve endured prolonged loadshedding for months.
In a statement, Eskom explained the image that’s gone viral on social media shows a section of Unit 1’s flue gas duct (FGD) detached from the sulphur dioxide absorber.
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While the power utility did not reveal what exactly happened to the gas duct, it did note that the incident happened while the unit was on forced shutdown “for Flue Gas De-sulphuration pump repairs.”
“Investigations and assessments are in progress to establish the cause of the failure and to ascertain the extent of the damage, as well as the recovery scope of work,” the statement read.
Eskom also indicated that, at this time, no timelines can be drawn on when Unit 1 will be back online. Details around this crucial information, the power utility added, will only “become clearer over the next few weeks.”
“Consultations with various specialist stakeholders, including the Original Equipment Manufacturer, are in progess to determine best course of action to restore the plant as quickly as possible,” Eskom said.
What does this mean for loadshedding?
The damage to Kusile’s Unit 1 has further increased fears of escalated blackouts. Already, Eskom is rotating between Stages 1 and 2 until Friday, 4 November 2022.
While Eskom is expected to provide updates on the weekend’s loadshedding schedule soon, the power utility did reveal that the Kusile power station only has two units feeding power to the grid.
Without providing further details, Eskom revealed that Unit 2 was off-grid, “while Unit 3 was generating electricity.”
“Unit 4, whose FGD duct is housed on a separate flue chimney, is currently on load generating full load to the national grid,” the utility explained.
As a precautionary measure, Eskom revealed that Unit 2 will likely remain offline.
Readers from these metros can check the latest loadshedding schedule below: