Name of the Project
Ingula pumped-storage scheme project.

Location
The project is located on the border between the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, South Africa.

Client
Eskom.

Project Description
The Ingula pumped-storage scheme, located within the Little Drakensberg mountain range, 23 km north-east of Van Reenen’s Pass, will comprise an upper dam (Bedford) and a lower dam (Braamhoek). The upper reservoir site is located in the Free State and the lower reservoir site in KwaZulu-Natal. The escarpment forms the border between the two provinces.

The distance between the upper and lower reservoirs will be 4.6 km, with an elevation difference of about 470 m.

The reservoirs will be connected through underground waterways and the underground powerhouse complex, which will house four pump turbines with a total capacity of 1 332 MW, a machine hall, a transformer hall and associated tunnels, shafts and caverns.

The twin headrace waterways, consisting of concrete and steel-lined headrace tunnels, pressure tunnels and shafts, will link the upper reservoir with the pump turbines. The draft tubes, concrete-lined surge shafts and concrete-lined tailrace tunnel will connect the pump turbines to the lower reservoir.

The upper reservoir is a concrete-faced rockfill embankment dam, 41 m high, with a total capacity of 22.4-million cubic metres and an active water storage volume of 19.2-million cubic metres. The 39-m-high lower dam comprises roller-compacted concrete, with a total capacity of 26.3-million cubic metres, and an active storage volume of 21.9-million cubic metres.

The scheme will be operated on a weekly cycle and will have an overall cycle efficiency of 78%.

(In total,) the plant represents 16 hours of storage, or 21 000 MWh, and is the fourteenth-largest pumped-storage scheme in the world.

Jobs to be Created
Not stated.

Value
Eskom recently reported cumulative project costs of R26.8-billion against a revised budget of R25.9-billion and an initial budget of R8.9-billion.

Duration
Construction at Ingula started in 2006, but there were major challenges, including the death of six construction workers in October 2013. This resulted in the closure of the site for a number of months, delaying the project completion.

Units 4 and 3 of the pumped-storage scheme were synchronised to the national grid this year on March 25 and April 6 respectively.

Units 2 and 1, both under optimisation, were synchronised to the national grid on May 22 and June 13 respectively.

The construction of the lower waterways was completed on December 13, 2015, and filled with water from the lower dam.

Latest Developments
The second unit at State-owned electricity provider Eskom’s Ingula pumped-storage scheme entered into commercial operation on August 23.

It has been contributing 333 MW to the national power grid since May, while in a testing phase.

Ingula’s Unit 4 was the first to enter into commercial operation and was launched by President Jacob Zuma in July.

The commercial operation of these two units marks a key milestone in the full commercial operation of the entire Ingula project.

The two remaining Ingula units have been synchronised to the national grid and are on track to enter commercial operation within the first half of 2017.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Braamhoek Consultants Joint Venture (JV), or BCJV, consisting of Gibb, Knight Piésold and SSI (civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, detailed design, tender documentation, design monitoring and construction supervision); Murray & Roberts (exploratory tunnel); Grinaker-LTA (access roads); CMI JV, comprising CMC di Ravenna, PG Mavundla and Salini Impregilo (underground civil works); Royal HaskoningDHV (design and construction of upper and lower dams, access roads, visitors centre, administration building and main underground works); Afriscan (water supply, sewage treatment, small access roads and construction of temporary Eskom offices); B&E Quanza Group (aggregate quarry); Acer Africa (environmental consultants); Braamhoek Dam JV (BDJV), comprising Concor Roads & Earthworks, Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon, Edwin Construction and Silver Rock (dam contract); Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation (main generating plant); Deutsche Bank (R1-billion loan); Voith (mechanical auxiliary plant, turbines and generators); ABB (electrical balance of plant); NCC Environmental Services (independent environmental control officer services); Konecranes (heavy-duty cranes); Letacla (fibre-optic communications); Siemens (generator transformers); Roshcon (line integration – main contractor); Optipower and Babcock Ntuthuko (line integration – subcontractors); and CBI and Prysmian (supply and installation of 400 kV cables).

On Budget and on Time?
The project has materially overrun its budget and reported significant schedule slippages.

Contact Details for Project Information
Eskom media desk, tel +27 11 800 3304/3309/3343/3378, fax +27 11 800 3805 or email mediadesk@eskom.co.za.
Eskom senior project manager Avin Maharaj, email Avin.Maharaj@eskom.co.za; or communications manager Mlungisi Shongwe, email mlungisi.shongwe@eskom.co.za.
Ingula Visitors Centre, tel +27 36 342 3122 or email fifi.meyer@eskom.co.za.
ABB, tel +41 43 317 6480 or fax +41 43 317 6482.
Gibb, tel +27 11 519 4600 or fax +27 11 807 5670.
BDJV (Concor Roads & Earthworks), tel +27 11 495 2222.
CMI Mavundla JV, tel +27 36 638 6000.
Royal HaskoningDHV, Jacques du Plessis, tel +27 11 798 6000 or email Jacques.duplessis@rhdhv.com.
Impregilo, tel +39 02 4442 2115.
Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation, tel +49 7321 370 or fax +49 7321 37 6180.
NCC, tel +27 21 702 2884, fax +27 86 555 0693 or email info@ncc-group.co.za.
Konecranes, tel +27 11 864 2800.
Roshcon, tel +27 11 629 8000, fax +27 11 629 1089 or email Rosh.Int.Comm@eskom.co.za.
Optipower, tel +27 21 845 6745, fax +27 21 845 5264 or email info@optipower.co.za.
Babcock Ntuthuko, tel +27 11 739 8287.
CBI, tel +27 11 928 2000, fax +27 11 392 2354 or email cbi@cbi-electric.com.
Prysmian, tel +39 02 6449 1 or email media.relations@prysmiangroup.com.