Eskom has dedicated Ingula power station’s Unit 1 to the memory of Hector Pieterson and the class of ’76.
Unit 1‚ the last unit at the hydro power storage station situated on the escarpment of the Little Drakensberg straddling the border of the KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces‚ has been synchronised and is ready to power up and add an additional 333 MW to the national grid‚ the electricity provider said.
“Ingula successfully synchronised its last unit‚ Unit 1 to the national grid at 18:57 on 16 June 2016‚ National Youth Day‚ marking a key milestone towards the full commercial operation of the unit ahead of the scheduled deadline of January 2017‚” Eskom added.
“In honour of the 40th commemoration of June 16 in South Africa’s history‚ Eskom dedicates Unit 1 to the memory of Hector Pieterson and the class of ‘76 who created a lasting legacy for the youth of the future‚” Eskom Group Chief Executive Brian Molefe said.
Thirteen-year-old Hector Pieterson was one of the first two children to have been shot dead by police during the June 16 1976 student uprising in Soweto. He became the subject of an iconic image of the student protests when a news photograph by Sam Nzima of him being carried while dying by another student‚ with his sister running alongside them‚ was published around the world.
“We are proud to have synchronised all four units at Ingula ahead of schedule. We look forward to Ingula rapidly nearing commercial completion and meeting the 2017 deadline thereby enhancing the security of Eskom’s electricity supply to power South Africa into the future‚” Molefe said.
Ingula unit 1 with its 333 MW capacity now completes the synchronisation of all four of Ingula units‚ totalling 1 332 MW.
Synchronization is the process whereby after construction and commissioning the unit is connected to the electricity grid for the first time. After synchronisation further optimisation and testing takes place to ensure that the unit is safe and reliable. The unit is then declared commercial and handed over to the generation division for operation.
About a week ago‚ Eskom announced that its Ingula unit 4 had been declared commercial. The remaining three units are on track for commercial operation in 2017 and will support the electricity grid‚ according to Eskom.
“Once completed in the next five years‚ our capacity expansion programme‚ which is the largest in the company’s history‚ will increase our generation capacity by 17 384MW‚ transmission lines by 9 756km and substation capacity by 42 470MVA. This will enable us to provide security of electricity supply to South African homes and businesses‚ powering economic expansion and extending electricity to millions of households who currently rely on other fuel sources for domestic cooking and heating.”
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