In October 2022, Kusile Power Station was forced to take Units 1, 2 and 3 offline due to a critical failure in Unit 1’s operating systems. The flue duct of Unit 1, responsible for transporting carbon dioxide and cooling the gas to safe temperatures, tore away from the main structure. Upon investigation, it was discovered that faulty emission control systems and human errors led to a cement-like deposit forming in the flue-gas duct of the Unit, causing a part of the chimney-like structure to collapse. The breakdown has had a knock-on effect of compromising the adjacent Unit 2 and 3 flue duct bends, making all three units inoperable. This has had a direct impact on the current energy crisis, and resulted in an intensification of loadshedding by at least two stages.
Current repair estimates project a timeline of 18 months, which would contribute to the indefinite continuation of loadshedding across the country for the next 18 to 24 months. However, the Chief Operating Officer of Eskom, Jan Oberholzer, has announced plans to introduce temporary flues for the 3 units to enable an earlier return to operations, while the longer-term repair solutions are implemented. Oberholzer confirmed that the temporary flues would enable the systems to bypass the damaged components, thereby allowing the Units to return to operation 8 months ahead of schedule.
Before this plan can be effected however, Eskom would require a temporary exemption from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to enable it to bypass the air-pollution control systems associated with the Unit’s operation. While Eskom has confirmed its intention to request such an exemption, the move is likely to face backlash from environmental advocacy groups who have obvious concerns regarding the impact the temporary flue system to the surrounding environment.
However, in the current context of indefinite loadshedding and continued breakdowns in the country’s national grid, it is more than likely that the authorities involved will support the move to bring back Kusile’s generation capacity as soon as possible. The recovery of the three Kusile units, as well as the synchronisation to the grid of Kusile Unit 5 later this year, forms a specific part of a larger board- and shareholder-approved generation recovery plan to deliver more than 6 000 MW of Eskom- generation over the coming two years, and ultimately do away with loadshedding altogether.
While the response from the DFFE remains to be seen, the current situation highlights South Africa’s constant struggle to balance the interests of environmental protection with the necessity of coal-fired power generation and electricity demands of the country.
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