President Cyril Ramaphosa of the African National Congress claims that South Africa has made significant progress in addressing load shedding. He anticipates that the frequency and intensity of load shedding will improve during the fourth quarter. He attributes this progress to several factors, including the return of Kusile units, increased embedded generation by private households and businesses, and demand management.

In recent news, Eskom announced that Kusile Unit 1 has resumed production, almost a year after a failure caused by the collapse of its flue duct in October 2022. The collapse had also affected two other units. Unit 1, with a capacity of 800 MW but contracted to supply 720 MW to the grid, is back in operation ahead of schedule. Although Eskom didn't specify the current contribution of Unit 1 to the grid, Kusile Unit 3, which resumed production on September 30, consistently provides 800 MW, supplying 720 MW to the grid, with the remaining 80 MW used for various station systems.

Eskom sees this as a positive step towards reducing and ultimately ending load shedding. Kusile Unit 2 is expected to resume production on November 30.

Before these units could come back online, Eskom sought and received a postponement, until March 31, 2025, for Kusile’s compliance with minimum emission standards related to sulfur dioxide emissions due to the use of temporary flues bypassing the flue gas desulphurisation plant.

Four Kusile units are currently operational, with Unit 4 unaffected by the flue collapse. Unit 5, which was damaged by a fire before commissioning, is expected to be synchronized with the grid in late December.

The Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, views the return of Kusile units as a crucial milestone in South Africa's economic recovery. He remains focused on expanding and strengthening the transmission infrastructure to accommodate new renewable generation capacity, bolstering the country's electricity generating capacity.

This development is a significant step towards addressing South Africa's electricity challenges and supporting economic growth and job preservation.