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Cape Town - All four units of Eskom's hydro power station Ingula have been synchronised ahead of schedule, said Eskom group chief executive Brian Molefe on Sunday.
Ingula unit 1 with its 333 MW capacity now completes the synchronisation of all four of Ingula units, to add a total of 1 332 MW to the national grid.
“In honour of the 40th commemoration of June 16 in South Africa’s history, Eskom dedicates Unit 1 to the memory of Hector Peterson and the class of ‘76 who created a lasting legacy for the youth of the future,” said Molefe in a statement.
“We are proud to have synchronised all four units at Ingula ahead of schedule."
Synchronisation 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.
"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,” said Molefe.
Last week Eskom announced that its Ingula unit 4 had been declared commercial on 10 June 2016. The rest of the units are on track for commercial operation in 2017.
Ingula is a peaking hydro power station (meaning it can supply electricity during times of peak demand), which consists of an upper and a lower dam or reservoir and a powerhouse located 116 storeys underground in two excavated underground caverns.
The R25bn project is situated between Ladysmith and Harrismith in the Little Drakensberg.
