The second of six of Eskom’s Medupi Units has been synchronised to the national grid.

Medupi Unit 5 was sychronised yesterday, marking what Eskom called “a key milestone towards the full commercial operation of the unit”.

“Synchronisation is when the generator in the unit is connected into the power grid so that it is aligned with all other generators on the national grid. It then starts to generate and deliver electricity into the grid over several months,” the power utility explained in a statement.

The Medupi power station was opened by President Jacob Zuma just over a year ago.

“Medupi Unit 5 synchronisation is a clear indication that we are on track on delivering the entire New Build programme to the country. This milestone further strengthens our position that load shedding is becoming a thing of the past. I am thrilled by this achievement. Eskom has turned the corner,” Eksom CEO, Brian Molefe said.

“The Medupi power station uses direct dry-cooling systems due to the water scarcity in the Lephalale area. Dry-cooling systems use air instead of water to cool the steam exiting a turbine,” Eskom said.

“The power plant incorporates super critical technology which is able to operate at higher temperatures than Eskom’s earlier generation of boilers and turbines. Importantly, the technology enables the power plant to operate with greater efficiency, resulting in better use of natural resources such as water and coal, and will have improved environmental performance,” it added.

Eskom said Medupi is scheduled to be in full commercial operation by March 2018.

Once completed, it will be the fourth largest coal-fired power plant and the largest dry-cooled power station in the world and its six units will have an installed capacity of 4 800MW.

The planned operational life of the power station is around estimated at around 50 years.