Eskom responsible for 95% of South Africa’s power generation from 15 coal-fired plants, is considering delaying closure of Grootvlei, Camden and Hendrina power plants until as late as 2030, the latest reports suggest.
This decision is being taken amid chances of capacity constraints that would rise when other stations would undertake maintenance. However, the move has raised further concerns about country’s commitment to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
These plants were built in 1960s and 1970s and had planned closure between 2020 and 2026. The three plants have the capacity to produce 4,600 MW of power, accounting to 10% of utility’s total power generation.
In another move, the company has recently completed repairs to Unit 3 of Medupi power station, after the unit was shut late in January to address defects relating to the boiler.
The power utility announced in June 2019 that the unit was ready for commercial operation and had been synchronised to the national grid, in what was expected to ease power generation constraints. But Medupi power station has been troubled by ongoing defects, and its performance was instead flagged as a contributing factor to load shedding.
Nevertheless, the company has used the lockdown period to ramp up maintenance work to its infrastructure, as demand for electricity dropped due to slow economic activity.
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