Kusile Unit 6 has entered commercial operation

ESKOM yesterday announced that Unit 6 of Kusile Power Station has officially entered commercial operation, marking the completion of South Africa's largest-ever power build programme.

- SIPHELELE DLUDLA

The milestone brings to a close the decades-long construction of Kusile and Medupi, the two supercritical coal-fired power stations that together can now supply 9 600MW to the national grid when running at full capacity.

Together, these stations form the backbone of the country’s baseload electricity supply.

Eskom said Unit 6 had been syn-chronised to the grid in March this year and had been contributing electricity since then, but its output is now formally recognised in performance reporting. The additional 800MW will also be factored into Eskom’s Energy Availability Factor (EAF) metrics.

This achievement also marks a key milestone in Eskom’s strategic goal to add 2 500MW of new capacity to the grid by March 2025 and represents a major step in completing one of the largest infrastructure projects in South Africa's history.