Pretoria: Eskom's Kusile Power Station Unit 6 has officially entered commercial operation, injecting approximately 800MW into the national grid and enhancing South Africa's energy security. The power utility announced this development, marking the culmination of the Eskom Build Programme.
According to South African Government News Agency, this milestone underscores Eskom's dedication to its turnaround plan, as highlighted by Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane. He noted that achieving commercial operation of Unit 6 within the planned timeframe demonstrates Eskom's disciplined execution of the Generation Operational Recovery Plan. This achievement finalizes the Kusile build programme and underscores Eskom's commitment to restoring energy security, enhancing grid stability, and investing in infrastructure supporting South Africa's long-term economic growth. Since its synchronisation in March, Unit 6 has consistently met performance benchmarks, contributing to grid reliability and meeting electricity demand 97% of the time.
At the Medupi Power Station, another component of Eskom's Build Programme, Unit 4 was returned to service in July this year. Marokane emphasized that Medupi and Kusile will remain central to South Africa's electricity supply for decades, with both stations designed for an operational lifespan of about 50 years. He added that alongside this milestone, Eskom is accelerating efforts to expand its renewable energy portfolio as part of a broader strategy to repower the grid and reduce emissions.
Eskom elaborated that the commercial operation signifies that Unit 6 has passed all required testing and optimisation phases and is now fully integrated into the power utility's operational fleet. Although the unit has been supplying electricity to the grid since its synchronisation on 23 March 2025, its contribution had not been reflected in official reporting until now. Moving forward, Unit 6's output will be included in the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) calculations, contributing to Eskom's overall performance metrics.
This achievement also marks a critical milestone in Eskom's strategic goal to add 2500MW of new capacity to the grid by March 2025 and represents a significant step in completing one of the largest infrastructure projects in South Africa's history.