Return of generating units eases strain during peak periods: Eskom COO
The return of some generating units at the country's new power stations have helped to get us through the peak periods of the last two cold nights by contributing to the grid.
This is what Eskom Chief Operating Officer Jan Oberholzer told Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Thursday night.
Unit 3 at Medupi Power Station was taken off the system in January for modifications to design defects. It came back at the end of April.
"On 5 and 6 May we successfully achieved maximum generating capacity of 793 megawatts and then sending out 729 megawatts.
"We don't know yet whether it is 100%, but we believe that we have moved positively forward in dealing and addressing these defects. It's going to take us maybe 3 to 4 months to really assess the success rate," says Oberholzer.
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Oberholzer says Unit 6 underwent the same repairs and returned yesterday morning – and generated about 350 MW by last night on its way to its maximum capacity.
Oberholzer says along with some units at Kusile Power Station - the power generated helped to meet the peak demand of 33 500MW and 32 00MW on Wednesday and yesterday respectively.
He says Unit 1 is currently undergoing design modifications - while the rest of the units will have been attended to by the end of the year.
On the progress in the construction of Medupi and Kusile, Oberholzer told the committee that the Eskom board remains committed to the Medupi Power Plant being completed in the 2020/21 financial year and Kusile in 2023/2024.
The cost for Medupi stands at R145 billion and Kusile at R161.4 billion.
