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%.

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 project completion.

Ingula’s Unit 4 was the first to enter into commercial operation on June 10, 2016.

The second unit of the scheme entered into commercial operation on August 22, 2016.

Unit 1 entered into commercial operation on August 30, 2016.

Unit 3 remains on track to reach commercial operation in the first half of 2017.

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

Latest Developments
Unit 3 of the Ingula-pumped storage scheme was synchronised to the national grid on October 29, 2016, making it the final unit to be synchronised.
 
Synchronisation is the process whereby the generator in the unit is electrically connected to the national power grid, so that its power is perfectly aligned with all the other generators to generate and deliver electricity into the national power grid.
 
Unit 3 was initially synchronised to the national grid on March 6, 2016, and supported the grid until April 6, 2016, when an electrical incident occurred.

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.