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Three units at Eskom’s Kusile Power Station, which is currently performing exceptionally well, will be taken offline one after the other from October this year to install the permanent solution following damage to their chimneys.
The damage deprived electricity users of their combined generation capacity of 2 400MW for most of last year.
The four units currently in commercial operation at Kusile, the youngest baby in Eskom’s generation fleet, are currently operating at an availability factor above 90% and have been taken off the list of six power stations earmarked for special attention by Eskom.
Good performance is being achieved with a temporary solution in place at units 1, 2 and 3 that bypasses the flue-gas desulphurisation unit (FGDs). This cost Eskom R600 million.
Kusile is the first Eskom coal-fired power station fitted with these units, which limit toxic emissions.
Action needed
International experts VGBe, appointed by National Treasury to do a technical assessment of Eskom’s generation fleet, were clear that the damage to the chimneys resulted from Eskom deviating from proper operational and maintenance practices for the FGDs.
Unless this is changed and proper skills brought in, the situation may repeat itself and the plant may deteriorate further, which is completely unnecessary, they said.
It is unclear whether anybody has been held accountable at Eskom for this incident, which occurred in October 2022.
Eskom’s response to questions in this regard was merely that “management gives the assurance that they are dealing with it internally”.
Eskom got a temporary exemption from the Department of Fishery, Forestry and the Environment to bypass the units, but this expires at the end of March next year. By then, the permanent solution must be in place, and the FGDs must be in operation. Eskom could not yet give an estimate of the cost.
The three units will be taken offline according to the following schedule:
It remains to be seen whether Eskom staff will by then be able to operate the plant, including the FGDs, properly and maintain the current good performance.
VGBe has warned that the power station staff are young and inexperienced, and the leadership must be replaced for Kusile to reach its full potential.
Incomplete elements
The four completed units have a joint generation capacity of 3 200MW. Once all six units have been commissioned, this capacity will increase to 4 800MW.
The VGBe report points out that several elements at the power station common to all units have not yet been completed, and unless they are, the power station’s capacity may be limited to 3 200MW.
The unfinished units include:
A source familiar with Kusile’s operations explains that issues at the ash disposal system may result in an upstream blockage as the ash piles up.
Regarding the coal handling system, VGBe warns that the conveyor belt will be completed only once the final unit has been commissioned. However, the capacity to do so is limited, restricting generation capacity.
The fact that the stores, maintenance workshops and chemical laboratory have not been completed has a negative impact on the maintenance of the plant and oversight over the water and coal quality, as well as the chemistry in the FGDs.
Kusile way past its completion date
Kusile should have been completed 10 years ago. The budget has doubled from R80 billion to R161 billion, R150 billion of which Eskom had spent by 31 March last year.
The power utility says Unit 5 will be in commercial use by the end of June and Unit 6 by April next year.
The extension of the ash conveyor belt will be completed within two months, and the ash dump by September next year.
The deadline for completing the coal off-loading facility is July next year.
Eskom did not give any timelines for the other outstanding infrastructure.
By Sunday, Eskom had not implemented load shedding for 11 consecutive days and had not given notice of any pending load shedding.
VGBe recommended strengthening the FGDs’ operations and maintenance immediately to ensure the plant’s sustainable improvement.
