Kusile Power Station Makes Progress with Temporary Stacks, Aims for 2024 Repair Completion

South Africa's power grid has received a significant boost as Eskom, the state-owned power utility, announced the effectiveness of its temporary solution at Kusile Power Station. The strategic move has put the station on a fast track for completing its planned repairs on the permanent flue-gas duct stack by December 2024.

Eskom's proactive engagement follows approval from South Africa’s National Air Quality Officer, who, in June 2023, provided a postponement from the strict Minimum Emission Standards (MES) policy. This allowed the operation of units 1, 2, and 3 in the absence of the Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) plant, a critical component that is fitted with SO2 emission-abatement technology. The extension, which is in effect until 31 March 2025, permits maintenance on the flue gas ducts while leveraging the power generation from these units.

The full usage of units 1, 2, and 3 is pivotal to Eskom's Generation Operational Plan. Together, these units contribute a substantial 2,400MW to South Africa's national grid, marking a crucial step in mitigating the country's power shortages.

Nevertheless, the postponement granted to Eskom is bound by conditions, primarily focusing on reducing the public health and air quality impact from the SO2 emissions. The company has been tasked with implementing measures to lessen the environmental risks and maintain transparent communication with communities around the power station regarding potential environmental impacts. Eskom has already initiated several community engagements and has committed to ongoing communication efforts until the installation of the permanent stacks.

Eskom's Group Executive for Generation, Bheki Nxumalo, highlighted the organization's efforts to comply with the imposed conditions. He expressed Eskom’s commitment to maintaining emissions from these units below the prescribed atmospheric emission license and ambient air quality limits. In line with this commitment, Eskom has undertaken comprehensive programs including health screening initiatives in the surrounding areas and deploying additional ambient air quality monitoring equipment dedicated to monitoring SO2 emissions.

Nxumalo emphasizes that the health and safety of Eskom’s employees, contractors, and the neighboring communities remain an utmost priority. To ensure a responsible and safe operational tenure at Kusile, the utility is taking stringent proactive measures to manage and mitigate any foreseeable risks.

In October 2022, Kusile Power Plant's unit one experienced a significant setback - a catastrophic failure of its flue gas duct. The incident resulted in the temporary offline status of units two and three, along with unit one. Eskom identified the failure at the section of the duct where the rubber expansion joint and compensator aid in directing the flue gas upward while allowing for thermal expansion of the chimney. The recovery from this event has been swift and now all three units are operational, contributing a vital 2,400MW to the grid using a temporary solution as permanent stack restoration continues.