Latest news with #Kusile
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Eskom admits to challenges in meeting 2030 emissions targets
Cooling towers at an Eskom coal-based power station in Duhva. Eskom's head of generation Bheki Nxumalo on Wednesday revealed that the utility's existing power stations may struggle to meet the crucial emissions standards due to insufficient technology designed to curb nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx). Image: Mike Hutchings/Reuters South Africa's power utility, Eskom, has openly acknowledged significant hurdles in achieving the ambitious decommissioning targets set for the Just Energy Transition (JET) by 2030. During a presentation to Parliament on Wednesday, Eskom's head of generation Bheki Nxumalo revealed that the utility's existing power stations may struggle to meet the crucial emissions standards due to insufficient technology designed to curb nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx). "The emissions standards post-2030 call for reduction much more aggressively. That's where the risks are because stations have different technologies. We are now on a drive for emissions abatement technologies post-2030 but its not all of them that will be ready, including Medupi," Nxumalo said in response to questions from MK Party MP, Brian Molefe. "Kusile will meet most of the requirements but it is going to be an issue to comply with that. Most will but the "NOx and SOx" will require more in refurbishment." Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Nxumalo said Eskom was doing economic studies on its overall Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) strategy from exemptions granted by the Department of Fisheries and Forestries and Environment (DFFE), not only for Kusile and Medupi's compliance, with stricter emission standards. "We are preparing to go to market but also considering the number of units. We are not going to do all of them by 2030, implementation will go post-2030," Nxumalo said. "We are not only looking at Medupi for reduction of the carbon footprint and also the NOx and SOx across the fleet. The research team is busy at work looking at other means we can employ in units running post-2030." Eskom Group Executive for Renewables, Rivoningo Mnisi, said the power utility had made a breakthrough in other global entities taking over the slack left by the US withdrawing its more than $1.5 billion commitments to South Africa's JET programme. "Dynamics and changes from the US have changed how we traditionally view funding, but it comes with opportunities. What we noticed is that the clean energy initiatives need to make business sense," Mnisi said. "We have had engagements with the World Bank that sourced funding from various funders. They are quite aware of our 5-year projects and are quite keen and confident to support the funding requirement. "We have also engaged with others [such as] the French Union. There is an appetite to partner. There is also interest from the Chinese funders interested in this. It's key how we go to market on this. We are working on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, which should be structured to allow us offtake and show how projects will make money and what our contribution from the balance sheet will be. "There is no shortage of funding to support the clean energy initiatives. What's more important is the governance structures to allow the PPP participation and the funding model to take place." As part of its strategy, Eskom is considering blended financing to avoid restrictions from single funders that could conflict with its operational needs. "We are in the process of shortlisting the supplier for the 72MW solar PV, while on the 150MW of gas the contract award is imminent and should be done potentially in the next two months," Mnisi said. "We are also doing some assessment of the long duration energy storage as part of the options we can implement at Komati, as well Grootvlei solar PV and gas on plan. They should be delivered by 2029, a shift from what we did at Komati Development. Work for Arnot, Camden and Hendrina is also started and the intention is to ensure that all projects are implemented and operational before 2030." BUSINESS REPORT
The Citizen
5 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Nail in load shedding coffin removed after Eskom delay
Eskom clears the air on whether the setback will affect its winter outlook Eskom has shared bad news, announcing that the planned maintenance on Koeberg Unit 1 will be delayed by about a month, with the unit now expected to only return to operation by August. The utility shared an update on the planned maintenance of Unit 1 at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in Cape Town on Tuesday. Offline The 930 MW Unit 1 is currently offline for the second phase of a long-term operation extension. It was initially planned to be back online in July after undergoing scheduled maintenance, including fuel refuelling and statutory tests, as part of the life extension process. Load shedding Eskom said the revised return date for Koeberg Unit 1 will not increase the risk of load shedding. 'The Winter Outlook released on 5 May 2025, which covers the period until 31 August 2025, remains valid. Importantly, the planned return of 2 500MW this winter does not rely on Unit 1'. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the revised timeline underscores the utility's commitment to ensure the ongoing safe and reliable performance of South Africa's only nuclear power station. ALSO READ: Eskom gets boost as Kusile's final unit adds 800MW to grid Inspections Mokwena said that eddy current inspections — a non-destructive testing method used to detect cracks, corrosion, or wear in the metal tubes of steam generators — identified defects on four tubes among several thousand tubes inspected, across two of the newly installed generators. 'Eskom immediately carried out an advanced automated process to address the four tube defects, supported by specialised international teams working alongside local experts. These critical repairs have now been successfully completed to uphold the highest safety and quality standards. Back to grid Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom's Group Executive for Generation, said the planned maintenance underway on Unit 1 will help deliver decades of affordable, low-carbon baseload power. 'Once all maintenance work is complete, Unit 1's reactor core will be refuelled, tested and synchronised back to the national grid'. Eskom said to protect the supply, planned outages at Koeberg are carefully staggered every 16 to 18 months so that both units are never offline at the same time. 'Together, Koeberg Units 1 and 2 provide around 1 860MW — approximately 5% of the country's electricity needs. Unit 2 remains fully operational, generating up to 946MW, with a year-to-date Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of 99.38% as of the end of June 2025. 'The national power system remains stable, with a month-to-date EAF of 62%. As the winter season continues, Eskom encourages all customers to adopt energy-efficient practices,' Eskom said. Medupi Last week, Eskom hammered another nail in the load shedding coffin, announcing that Unit 4 of the Medupi Power Station was successfully returned to service eight months ahead of its original schedule. This has added 800MW to the national grid. Medupi's return follows extensive repairs, made possible by the innovative use of a refurbished Generator Stator, an alternative to waiting for a brand-new component. The unit had been out of service since 8 August 2021, after sustaining significant damage from the explosion of its Generator Stator, a key component in the operation of the generation unit. ALSO READ: Eskom takes action after breach of online vending system
The Citizen
13-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Eskom spends over R5bn on diesel to keep the lights on
Eskom said while load shedding remains suspended, electricity demand is rising. Eskom says it has spent R5.26 billion on fuel for its fleet of open-cycle gas turbines (OCGT), generating 892.42GWh to keep the lights on so far this financial year. This is higher than the 485.39GWh generated during the same period last year. The utility stated that the power system remains stable and continues to demonstrate resilience in meeting winter demand. System constraints Eskom added that while occasional system constraints do arise, they are effectively managed, with sufficient emergency reserves being deployed during morning and evening peak periods. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the year-to-date load factor for OGCT has marginally increased to 10.78%, reflecting a 0.08% increase compared to the previous week. 'This figure remains higher than the 5.87% recorded during the same period last year. Although diesel usage is within budget, it is expected to decline as more units return to service, increasing available generation capacity.' ALSO READ: Eskom gets boost as Kusile's final unit adds 800MW to grid Load shedding Mokwena stated that Eskom's winter outlook, covering the period from 5 May to 31 August, has not changed. 'It indicates that load shedding will not be necessary if unplanned outages stay below 13 000MW. If outages rise to 15 000MW, load shedding would be limited to a maximum of 21 days out of 153 days and restricted to stage 2.' According to Eskom, for the week of 4 to 10 July 2025, unplanned outages averaged 13 628MW – a decrease from the previous week, but 1 525MW higher than the same period last year and 628MW above the base case estimate of 13 000MW. Electricity demand Mokwena said that while load shedding remains suspended, electricity demand is rising during the winter period. 'Eskom urges the public to avoid illegal connections and energy theft. These activities often lead to transformer overloads, equipment failures, and in some cases, explosions and extended outages, prompting the need for load reduction to protect the network.' Last week, Eskom hammered another nail in the load shedding coffin, announcing that Unit 4 of the Medupi Power Station was successfully returned to service eight months ahead of its original schedule. This has added 800MW to the national grid. ALSO READ: Eskom takes action after breach of online vending system
The Herald
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Possible stage 2 load-shedding if breakdowns spike in winter: Eskom
While South Africans continue to enjoy a welcome reprieve from load-shedding, Eskom has warned the suspension could quickly be reversed if unplanned breakdowns rise above 13,000MW. According to the power utility, its winter outlook published on May 5 stated no load-shedding is expected as long as breakdowns remain under the threshold. However, it said if unplanned outages increase to 15,000MW, the country could face up to 21 days of stage 2 load-shedding during winter. 'As of June 26, unplanned outages totalled 15,137MW, which includes 800MW from Medupi unit 4. With this level of breakdowns, we are operating above our base-case scenario — and this could result in rotational power cuts if the situation worsens,' said Eskom. Despite the high level of breakdowns, Eskom reported the generation system remains stable, with an available capacity of 30,703MW excluding Kusile unit 6, which has been contributing 720MW to the grid since March though it has not yet entered commercial operation. 'With the combined capacity Eskom is well-positioned to meet tonight's anticipated peak demand of 28,810MW,' said the utility. Unplanned outages have averaged 14,696MW from June 20 to 26, up by 2,815MW compared to the same time last year.
The Herald
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald
'Winter plan remains valid despite load-shedding challenges': Kgosientsho Ramokgopa
This is in keeping with the long-term operation, the extension obtained 'from the operator to grant us an additional 20 years of operation and though it's [unit 1] out we are projecting it is going to come back in July, when we'll be at the peak of winter'. 'During this winter we're going to have the benefit of all of the Koeberg units, at least by July. We synchronised Kusile unit 6 to the grid on March 26, so that's additional capacity we have on the grid, about 800MW.' However, Ramokgopa acknowledged that despite these structural improvements, unplanned maintenance setbacks have affected the ability to meet energy demands, necessitating load-shedding. The primary issue lies in 'outage slips', where units scheduled to return to service after maintenance failed to do so on time, amounting to a shortfall of 3,100MW. Ramokgopa attributed the delays to challenges with third-party contractors and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). 'Those units have not come back as a result of a multiplicity of reasons. Some of them had to do with the third-party players, the contractors, the OEMs, that have not delivered,' he said.
