South Africa’s state electricity utility added an 800 MW unit at the Kusile Power Station to the national grid, amid ongoing efforts to boost generation and bring an end to scheduled outages.

The addition of Kusile’s Unit 6 brings Eskom closer to its objective of adding 2 500 MW of new capacity by the end of March.

The unit will undergo testing and optimisation over the next six months, after which it will be officially added to Eskom’s generation fleet. Once all units are fully operational, Kusile will contribute a total of 4 800 MW to the national grid, making it South Africa’s largest infrastructure project, Eskom said.

“Kusile Unit 6’s addition is proof that we are making continued progress in stabilising and strengthening South Africa’s electricity supply,” Eskom Chief Executive Officer Dan Marokane said in a statement.

Kusile will also be the first power station in Africa to implement Wet Flue Gas Desulphurisation technology, which will help reduce sulphur-dioxide emissions from its largely coal-fired fleet of plants that generate more than 80% of South Africa’s electricity.

Africa’s largest economy has been subjected to years of rolling power outages after Eskom failed to keep pace with demand. Supply has stabilised since March 2023.