April 14th, 2014, Published in Articles: Energize

 

While the construction of Eskom’s three new power stations has captured public attention, a vital part of the new-build programme has gone almost unnoticed – the huge project to strengthen the country’s national grid as these new plants are linked to the network. In addition to linking up the giant coal-fired plants, Medupi and Kusile, and the pumped storage station Ingula, Eskom’s new-build programme includes a number of initiatives to strengthen the grid by installing additional transmission lines and upgrading existing ones. This is a significant investment. Thus far Eskom has spent R21-billion on transmission projects, which will increase to R34,5-billion by the time the build programme is completed. Since the start of the build programme, Eskom has installed some 5200 km of new transmission lines as well as substations with a transfer capability of more than 24 000 MVA. While most of these are 400 kV lines, a significant portion of the new lines are 765 kV lines which provide better transfer capability of bulk power over long distances such as to centres in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

Contact Nto Rikhotso, Eskom, Tel 011 800-4706, mediadesk@eskom.co.za

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