Kusile Power Station’s Unit 1 has finally resumed operations, a year after it was taken off online. Electricity Minister Kgosientsho...Kusile Power Station’s Unit 1 has finally resumed operations, a year after it was taken off online.
Despite the good news, the question remains: does this mean SA is one step closer to the end of load shedding?, energy expert Chris Yelland welcomed the news but said SA’s energy struggles were far from over. He described the development as “a quick fix.” Emphasizing an urgent need for new power stations, Yelland said: “Not only do we need to meet demand, but we also need sufficient reserve generation capacity, on stand-by if ever a unit is taken out for maintenance.”Although Unit 1’s resumption of operations is a positive step, the expert is not impressed about the constant breakdowns of the units.
Minister of Forestry and Environmental Affairs Barbara Creecy granted Eskom a temporary Atmospheric Emission Licence exemption earlier this year, which enabled the power producer to operate the stations pending a long-term solution.Yelland said South Africans could expect less power cuts over the festive season due to low demand resulting from year-end closure of most industries, as well as the return of Kusile’s Unit 3 power plant in December.