Kusile roars to life

After years of setbacks, South Africa’s energy landscape has finally turned a corner, with Eskom’s Kusile Power Station now operating at full commercial capacity.

This was the core message from President Cyril Ramaphosa during an address to Eskom workers at the Mpumalanga facility on Friday. The President conducted a working visit to the Nkangala-based station to witness the progress made in restoring national energy security, following a tour of the facility with Eskom’s leadership.

In September last year, Kusile’s Unit 6 reached commercial operation, adding approximately 800 megawatts (MW) to the grid.

“It is a pleasure to be here to bear witness to the great strides Eskom has made towards restoring our country’s energy security,” the President said in his remarks. “Kusile means ‘the dawn has come’, which speaks directly to this moment in our national journey. Kusile’s performance benchmarks are impressive; it is now one of the most reliable stations in the Eskom fleet, achieving an average Energy Availability Factor of 74%, reaching 90% on occasion.”

The full commercial operation of Kusile Unit 6 marks the formal conclusion of the utility’s ambitious Build Programme, which included the Medupi Power Station in Limpopo. Together, these two stations are designed to generate a combined 9,600MW for the national grid.

Ramaphosa described these massive stations, among the largest in Africa and the world, as the “backbone of South Africa’s energy supply.”

“When operating at full capacity, these two stations are capable of delivering 9,600 megawatts. Both are designed for an operational lifespan of 50 years and will remain key to South Africa’s electricity supply for many years to come,” he said. “What has been achieved here at Kusile, and indeed across all Eskom’s power stations, is a testament to discipline, consistency, and resilience.”