Menu Close

Last Komati generating unit bows out, as facility shuts down

Monday marked the end of the operational life of the coal-fired Komati Power Station in Mpumalanga-South Africa.

The final generating unit at the facility, which has been in operation since 1961, was shut down at noon, News24 reports.

The unit, which was put into service in 1966, was the ninth and final unit constructed. As mandated by law, other units have been shut down as they have arrived at the end of their service life.

The remaining unit’s contribution to the nation’s electricity grid was 121MW, Eskom noted.

The utility stated that no Eskom employees would be laid off as a consequence of the plant closure, with the majority of Komati employees being relocated to assist and augment skills in other power stations and business areas in accordance with operational requirements.

READ MORE: 18 more months of power outages?

Komati will be converted into a renewable energy generation facility powered by 150MW of solar, 70MW of wind, and 150MW of storage batteries. On-site, a containerized micro-grid assembly factory is already in operation.

In addition, the construction of a facility to reskill, retrain, and upskill Eskom employees and members of the community is currently underway.

One of the developmental finance institutions has provided funding for this facility, which will help the neighborhood transition in a “just” way after the power plant is shut down. Eskom will formally announce this in due course.

Related Posts