State-owned power utility Eskom on March 31 announced that Unit 3 of the Kusile power station, in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga, had achieved commercial operation this week.

"Bringing the 800 MW unit to commercial status means construction has reached the halfway mark on project," it said in a statement.

Three of the generation units at the project have now reached commercial operation.

The commercial operation status follows two years of rigorous testing and optimisation since the unit was first synchronised into the national grid in April 2019. Commercial operation status is conferred on generation units that have met the requirements for full technical, statutory, safety and legal compliance.

This significant milestone marks the contractual handover of the unit from the principal contractors under the Group Capital Build project unit to the Generation division, the utility said.

“Bringing this unit to commercial operation is a major milestone for Eskom and the employees involved in the project, who are working hard to ensure Eskom fulfils its promise of bringing stability to the power system,” said Eskom Capital Projects group executive Bheki Nxumalo.

Further, the construction, testing and optimisation activities on the remaining three units, some of which are currently providing intermittent power to support the grid, are progressing well.

Kusile is the first power station in South Africa and Africa to use wet flue gas desulphurisation (WFGD) technology. WFGD is used to remove oxides of sulphur, such as sulphur dioxide, from the exhaust flue gas in power plants that burn coal or oil.

Eskom is fitting WFGD to the Kusile plant as an atmospheric emission abatement technology, in line with current international practice, to ensure compliance with air quality standards and its commitments to some of the funders of the project.

"Eskom is proud of its team at Kusile who have delivered this third unit with extreme dedication, and working under challenging conditions during periods of load-shedding and Covid-19 restrictions. Over the years, the team has worked together with execution partners to ensure that testing activities are done thoroughly and successfully," the utility said.