Coal fired power stations

Image of Matla power station
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At the heart of an electricity utility such as Eskom is the responsibility for supplying the electricity on which modern society depends.

Eskom’s power stations operate 365 days a year

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Arnot power station

Technical details:

  • Six 350MW units
  • Installed capacity: 2 100MW
  • 2001 capacity : 1 980MW
  • Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 35.60%
  • Ramp rate: 34.48% per hour
  • Average availability over last 3 years: 92.07%
  • Average production over last 3 years: 9 675GWh
Contact details:
Tel: +27 013 297 9111
 
Where is Arnot:
Approximately 50km east of Middelburg in Mpumalanga.
Image of ARNOT power station

Camden power station

Image of Camden power station
General:
Camden was the starting point of the national power grid consisting of a series of 400kV lines which today interconnect the entire country. 
 
RTS Project:
Due to a sharp increase in the demand for electricity, the Eskom Board of Directors took a final decision in 2003 for the Return to Service (RTS) of the three power stations, Camden, Grootvlei and Komati, that were mothballed in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.
 
The initial Execution Release Approval (ERA) document was valued at R4, 029 billion and the entire return to service of the station was done for less than R5, 866 billion.
 
The return to service project of the station ended on 31 March 2010 with the entire station fully commercial.
 
Contact details:
Tel: +27 17 827 8000
 
Where is Camden:
Camden is approximately 15km’s from Ermelo

Duvha power station

General
In 1993 Duvha became the first power station in the world to be retrofitted with pulse jet fabric filter plants on three of its six units. These plants contribute largely to the reduction of air pollution by removing 99.99% of the fly ash which otherwise would be released into the air  through the station’s chimneys.  
 
Technical details:
  • Six 600MW units Installed capacity: 3 600MW
  • 2001 capacity: 3 450MW
  • Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 37.6%
  • Ramp rate: 40% per hour
  • Average availability over last 3 years: 89.85%
  • Average production over last 3 years: 22 798GWh
Safety
Duvha’s excellent safety record is proven by the fact that it has been awarded NOSCAR status twice already by the National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA). The last award was made in March 2001.
 
Contact details:
Tel: (013) 690-0111
 
Where is Duvha:
Approximately 15km east of Witbank in Mpumalanga.
Image of Duvha power station

Grootvlei power station

Image of Grootvlei power station
General: Grootvlei’s units 5 and 6 were the first test facilities for dry cooling in South Africa. Unit 6 has an indirect dry cooling system.

Technical details:
  • Six 200MW units
  • Installed capacity: 1 200MW
  • Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 32.90%
Contact details: 
Tel: (017) 779 8500/(017) 779-0161
Where is Grootvlei:
The station is situated close to the town of Balfour in Mpumalanga

Hendrina power station

Technical details:
  • Ten 200MW units Installed
  • capacity: 2 000MW
  • 2001 capacity: 1 900MW
  • Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 34.20% 
  • Ramp rate: 33.33% per hour
Contact details:
Tel: (013) 296-3499

Where is Hendrina:
Approximately 40km south of Middelburg in Mpumalanga
Photo of Hendrina power station

Kendal power station

Photo of Kendal power station
General:
Kendal has an indirect dry-cooling system, which means that it uses significantly less water in its cooling processes than the conventional wet cooled power stations. The station’s cooling towers are the largest structures of their kind in the world with a height and base diameter of 165m.
 
Technical details:
  • Six 686MW units
  • Installed capacity: 4 116MW
  • 2001 capacity: 3 840MW (sent out capacity)
  • Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 35.30%
  • Ramp rate: 16.67% per hour (15MW per minute) 
Contact details:
Tel: (013) 647-9111
Where is Kendal:
Approximately 40km southwest of Witbank in Mpumalanga

Komati power station

Technical details
Komati was one of the first pulverised fuel firing stations and designed to generate 1000 MW with five units rated at 100 MW and four at 125 MW
  • Five 100 MW Units
  • Four 125 MW Units
  • Installed capacity: 1000 MW
  • Design efficiency of rated turbine MCR (%): 30.00%
Where is Komati:
Komati is situated about 37km from Middelburg, 43km from Bethal and 40km from Witbank, via Vandyksdrift.
Image of Komati power station

Kriel power station

Image of Kriel power station

Technical details:

  • Six Units: Each generate 500MW
  • Installed capacity: 2850MW
  • Ramp Rate per hour: 30MW
  • Average availability over last 3 years: 76.8%
  • Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%):34.99%
  • Average production over last 3 years: 17 880 GWh
Contact details:
Tel: (017) 615-2000
 
Where is Kriel:
Between the towns of Kriel and Ogies in Mpumalanga

Kusile power station

The Kusile power station project, which is located near the existing Kendal power station, in the Nkangala district of Mpumalanga, will comprise six units, each rated at an 800 MW installed capacity for a total capacity of 4 800 MW. Once completed, Kusile will be the fourth-largest coal-fired power station in the world.

The Kusile project will include a power station precinct, power station buildings, administrative buildings (control buildings and buildings for medical and security purposes), roads and a high-voltage yard.

Lethabo power station

Image of Lethabo power station
History:
Construction of Lethabo started in 1980. Extensive environmental studies were conducted in accordance with Eskom’s Environmental policy. It was established that the rehabilitation programmes implemented as part of Eskom’s normal operations would contribute considerably to the restoration and revaluation of the whole area.
The station:
The station comprises of six 618MW Production Units. A Production Unit consists of one boiler, a turbine and generator. Power is produced at 20kV and at 13.5kA and sent to a step-up transformer where the voltage is increased to 275kV for efficient transmission.
Lethabo Power Station is also termed a ZLED-station (Zero-Liquid-Effluent-Discharge). This means that the whole station is a closed system and no water from our processes are allowed to leave the power station premises. An extensive water recycling and cleaning desalination is in place.
  
Contact details:
Tel: (016) 457-5111
Lethabo
Visitors centre
 
Where is Lethabo:
Between Vereeniging and Sasolburg in the Free State

Majuba power station

Facts about Majuba Power Station:

  • Majuba is the latest of Eskom’s “6 pack” power plants 
  • Majuba is Eskom’s second largest power plant with an installed capacity of 4 110MW
  • Units 1-3 capacity: 657 MW per unit (612 MW sent out)
  • Units 4-6 capacity: 712 MW per unit (669 MW sent out)
  • Majuba has no dedicated mine and currently purchases coal through short/medium term supply contracts (15 suppliers)
  • Majuba has 2 shifting capabilities

What makes Majuba Power Station unique?

  • Different sources of coal
  • Only Eskom plant operating a train tippler plant
  • Coal delivered per month by rail 0.42 MT, by road 0.74 MT, approximately 700 trucks per day
  • Majuba utilizes two different cooling technologies: Indirect dry cooling and Wet cooling
  • Only coal fired power station in the country that has predominantly 2-shifted
  • Only station in RSA that has axial FD and ID fans

Where is Majuba?
Between Volksrust and Amersfoort in Mpumalanga

Contact details:
Tel: (017) 799-3111

Photo of Majuba power station

Matimba power station

Image of Matimba power station
Technical details:
  • Six 665MW units
  • Installed capacity: 3 990MW
  • 2001 capacity: 3 690MW
  • Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 35.60%
  • Ramp rate: 28.57% per hour
  • Average availability over last 3 years: 93.67%
  • Average production over last 3 years: 23 789GWh 
Contact details:
Tel: (014) 763-8911
 
Where is Matimba:
The station is situated close in Lephalale in the Limpopo Province

Matla power station

Technical detail:

  • Six 600MW units
  • Installed capacity: 3 600MW
  • 2001 capacity: 3 450MW
  • Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 37.60%
  • Ramp rate: 25.00% per hour
  • Average availability over last 3 years: 93.84%
  • Average production over last 3 years: 25 199GWh 

Contact details:
Tel: (017) 612-9111
 
Where is Matla:
Approximately 30km from Secunda in Mpumalanga

Image of Matla power station

Medupi power station

Photo of Medupi power station
The Medupi Power Station Project is a green-fields coal-fired power plant located west of Lephalale, Limpopo Province, South Africa.
 
Medupi is the first base-load station to be built in 20 years by Eskom after Majuba Power Station This base-load power station was formerly known as Project Alpha and has since been named Medupi which means “rain that soaks parched lands, giving economic relief”.

Tutuka power station

General:  Tutuka consists of six 609MW units at an installed capacity of 3 654MW.
Approximately 850 employees and over a 100 trainees are employed. Tutuka’s first unit went commercial on 1 June 1985 and the last unit on 4 June 1990. Tutuka is an important link in the 765kV extra-high-voltage transmission system linking Mpumalanga with the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. 

Technical details:

  • Six 609MW units
  • Installed capacity: 3 654MW
  • 2001 capacity: 3 510MW
  • Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 38.00%
  • Ramp rate:   33.33% per hour
  • Average availability over last 3 years: 79,48%
  • Average production over last 3 years: 19 764GWh 

Contact details:  Tel: (017) 749-9111

Where is Tutuka:  Between Standerton and Bethal, approximately 25 km from Standerton in Mpumalanga.

Image of Tutuka power station