Komati power station shut for good after 60 years of service

The coal-fired Komati power station in Mpumalanga has reached the end of its operating life after serving SA since 1961. Eskom announced on Monday that it had been shut down from midday.

The power utility said the shutting down of the plant would not have a significant effect on the national electricity grid, as the remaining unit was only contributing 121MW.

“Unit 9 was commissioned in March 1966, the last of nine units that were built. Other units were shut down over the years as they reached the end of their operating life, a legislated requirement,” it said.

Eskom said it had transferred the majority of Komati employees from the power station to support and augment skills at other power stations and in areas of the business in line with operational requirements.

“No Eskom employees will lose their jobs as a result of the closure. The decommissioning of the power station has followed a diligent process, which comprised undertaking a socioeconomic impact study. Eskom has held extensive engagements with the employees, labour unions, the community and all affected stakeholders, and communicated the requirement to shut down the plant timeously and clearly with everyone involved.”

Eskom said Komati had previously been mothballed due to the country’s excess generation capacity in the early 1980s, as well as its age and the high maintenance costs.

“Unit 9 was mothballed in 1989. Subsequently, a decision was made to return Komati power station to service, with the refurbishment commencing on August 14 2006. Unit 9 was handed over to the generation division on December 24 2008 and declared commercial on January 4 2009,” it said.

According to the power utility, the end of the use of coal at Komati marks the beginning of another exciting journey in the service of the country.

“Eskom has developed a comprehensive just energy transition (JET) strategy, which places equal importance on the ‘transition to lower carbon technologies’ and the ability to do so in a manner that is ‘just’ and sustainable,” it said.

The remaining employees will take part in the Komati repowering and repurposing project. The power plant will be converted into a renewable generation site powered with 150MW of solar, 70MW of wind and 150MW of storage batteries. This, according to Eskom, will continue to put the site and its associated transmission infrastructure to good use and provide economic opportunities to the community.

“A containerised micro-grid assembly factory has already been established onsite. The development of the Komati training facility to facilitate the reskilling, retraining and upskilling of Eskom employees and members of the community, as appropriate, is under way.

“Eskom has already signed a partnership agreement with the SA Renewable Energy Technology Centre of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, to develop the training facility.”

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