Kusile Power Station’s Unit 6, was added to the the national grid on Sunday afternoon, at 16:45.
Eskom said this achievement marks a crucial step towards completing one of South Africa’s largest infrastructure projects.
Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom Group Executive for Generation, said this culminates in the addition of about 2,500 Megawatts (MW) of new capacity to the grid.
Kusile Power Station is scheduled to contribute a total of 4, 800MW to the national grid, once all units are fully operational, making it South Africa’s largest infrastructure project.
Kusile is also the first power station in South Africa and Africa to implement Wet Flue Gas Desulphurisation (WFGD) technology, ensuring compliance with air quality standards and aligning with global best practices to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions.
Its sister project, Medupi, is expected to return about 800MW by the end of April 2025 from an extended outage following a generator stator failure and the completion of the project.
Dan Marokane, Eskom Group Chief Executive, said “Eskom is at a critical point returning Megawatts to the grid as we are currently in a constrained state. This milestone is a testament to the unwavering dedication and resilience of Eskom’s employees and contractors. Their commitment has driven us forward despite numerous challenges. As we celebrate this progress, our focus is now on ensuring that Unit 6 achieves commercial operation in the second half of 2025, further strengthening South Africa’s energy security.”