According to SA’s minister of electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Eskom’s generating position is improving. He attributes this not in a reduction of unexpected breakdowns, but to the imminent return to service of the Kusile power station.

Ramokgopa says Kusile Unit 3 returned to service two months ahead of schedule, meaning that an additional 800 MW would soon be available to help reduce the need for load shedding. Only half of the Kusile power station’s six units are currently operational. The other three have been offline for a year now, following the collapse of the desulphurisation unit and damage to the chimney shared by these three generating units.

Studies undertaken by Eskom show that a “huge amount” of slurry had been deposited onto the chimney wall, threatening its structural integrity.

However, the chimney will soon be repaired – but without the desulphurisation unit – which allow the units to start operating again.

Read also: SA pins its hopes on Kusile

However, running the plant without desulphurisation will result in potentially lethal levels of poisonous gases being pumped into the atmosphere, continuously, from the power station’s chimneys.

Given Kusile’s position so close to Gauteng – the most densely populated province in the country – the decision to allow Kusile to return to service without desulphurisation equipment will result in even more premature deaths, especially among those unfortunate enough to live and work anywhere near, or downwind from the power station.

In the meantime, it seems that the government is unable to find a new CEO for the power utility. Apparently, despite considering 147 so-called “high calibre” candidates, the government has not yet identified the ideal person to fill the post. This surely means that until a suitable candidate is found and appointed, unwise decisions like returning Kusile to service without desulphuraisation units will contnue.