Tutuka power station

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Tutuka power station is an operating power station of at least 3654-megawatts (MW) in Standerton, Gert Sibande, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Tutuka power station	Standerton, Gert Sibande, Mpumalanga, South Africa	-26.777156, 29.352376 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5, Unit 6: -26.777156, 29.352376

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	operating	coal: bituminous	609	subcritical	1985	2030 (planned)
Unit 2	operating	coal: bituminous	609	subcritical	1985	2030 (planned)
Unit 3	operating	coal: bituminous	609	subcritical	1986	2030 (planned)
Unit 4	operating	coal: bituminous	609	subcritical	1987	2030 (planned)
Unit 5	operating	coal: bituminous	609	subcritical	1988	2030 (planned)
Unit 6	operating	coal: bituminous	609	subcritical	1990	2030 (planned)

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 1	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 2	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 3	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 4	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 5	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 6	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]

Background

The Tutuka Power Station is a coal-fired station owned by the South African publicly-owned electricity utility Eskom.

The power station has an installed capacity of 3,654 megawatts (MW) comprising 6 X 609 MW units.

The power station is frequently partially responsible for Eskom's loadshedding. For example, three units at the station were down in May 2021 "due to loss of air compressors."

In October 2021, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment partially granted environmental compliance postponement for the power station. Tutuka was also named as one of the highest-emitting stations.

Eskom was planning technology updates in order to address particulate matter emissions, but the company's 2021 Integrated Report states that this was being reassessed due to "funding constraints". Eskom's 2022 Integrated Report stated that the emissions reduction project at some Tutuka units might be completed after the March 2025 deadline, "but work to minimise this risk is ongoing, and alternatives are also being considered."

In March 2023, South Africa’s Minister of Electricity visited Tutuka power station and reportedly named it the second most "problematic" power station among the Eskom fleet, behind Kusile power station. The Minister stated that the two biggest problems plaguing the power station were low quality coal and corruption interfering with procurement.

In May 2023, Eskom increased load shedding due to delays in returning units to service at multiple power stations, including two units at Tutuka power station.

In September 2023, South Africa's energy minister said that "recent intervention" had brought the power station up from one unit online to four units online. In recent years, the power station's Energy Availability Factor had reportedly dropped to 21%.

Retirement plans

According to South Africa's 2019 Integrated Resource Plan, the plant's 50-year Life Decommissioning was projected for 2035-2040. In April 2020, Eskom listed the last unit's retirement as 2041.

In November 2023, Eskom's 2022 Transmission Development Plan (TDP) included a revised retirement date of 2030 for the Tutuka power station. However, South Africa's 2023 draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) proposed scenarios that included delaying coal plant closures, and specifically noted that retiring Tutuka before reaching its 50-year design life would create a "shortage" of capacity.

Sabotage and corruption investigations

In December 2020, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) closed a probe into alleged sabotage at Eskom's Tutuka power station, Fin24 reported. This came a year after President Cyril Ramaphosa cut short a foreign trip to announce that sabotage had contributed to severe power cuts that led to unprecedented stage 6 load shedding. But according to the Hawks, the NPA closed the case, citing a "lack of evidence to validate the initial suspicion".

In August 2021, Eskom placed seven managers on precautionary suspension over possible continued gross negligence in the performance of their duties at Tutuka power station.

In November 2021, the power station's general manager Sello Mametja called law enforcement to investigate issues at the power station. He said that if any of his staff members were to sabotage the power supply, he would know. This came after Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said that the power utility was investigating suspicious circumstances surrounding the breakdowns of several power stations.

(Articles have referenced arrests related to charges of theft, fraud, and corruption associated with fuel oil.)

In May 2022, another act of sabotage occurred when a warming valve cable was cut "just outside the sight" of the facility's cameras. Many similar incidents have occurred across Eskom's plants, following major loadshedding power outages caused by the company's aging infrastructure.

In July 2022, following a site visit at the plant, the President of South Africa said: "theft, corruption and fraud are among the 'enormous' challenges hampering performance at Tutuka power station". At least five acts of sabotage occurred at the power station within the previous year.

In December 2022, it was reported that the government had deployed members of the South African National Defence Force to Grootvlei, Majuba, Camden, and Tutuka power stations in response to theft and vandalism at the plants.

In May 2023, an employee at Tutuka power station was among five people who appeared in criminal court for an alleged R900,000 (US$45,700) in fraudulent charges.

In June 2023, the former general manager of the power station, Sello Mametja, reportedly confirmed to a Parliamentary standing committee that his life was under threat while he attempted to address corruption and sabotage at the power station.

Renewable IPPs leased on Coal Site

In October 2022, Eskom signed lease agreements with four independent power producers (IPPs) for the development of renewable energy projects covering 6,184 hectares of land near its Majuba and Tutuka power stations. Following feasibility studies, the land was expected to provide up to 2000 MW of wind, solar and battery projects. The projects could be commissioned within three years. In addition, similar scoping was underway near the Kendal and Kusile power stations in Mpumalanga and the Ingagane power station in KwaZulu-Natal. Eskom planned to issue new tenders four times per year to continue accelerating renewable energy generation and boost South Africa's grid capacity in light of the major, ongoing load shedding problem.

In May 2023, the IPP Red Rocket Energy was reportedly planning to build two 150 MW solar energy and battery storage facilities near the Tutuka power station.

Environmental impact

As of 2018, Eskom was seeking an exemption until at least 2024 from pollution standards for its Tutuka plant. The plant, which is located in the heavily polluted Highveld Priority Area in Mpumalanga province, has been estimated to cause the premature deaths of 192 people a year and an economic loss of 2.4 billion rand (US$200 million) a year from health costs. Eskom is currently allowed to emit up to three and a half times more in particulate emissions than allowed under the minimum emission standards adopted in 2015.

In November 2020, the South African Department of Environment Forestry and Fisheries revealed that in May 2020, the agency issued compliance notices to the Tutuka Power Station to rectify exceedances of emission limits and breaches of water licenses that have led to ground and surface-water pollution.

According to a March 2024 report on air pollution in Africa by Greenpeace, Tutuka power station was among Africa's ten largest point sources of nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution from May 2018 to November 2021. Eight other Eskom coal plants were included in the top ten NOx emissions hotspots in Africa for that period. The report noted that government data on emissions in Africa is patchy, so the authors relied on satellite measurements.

In May 2024, South Africa's Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment approved an exemption for Hendrina power station, Kriel power station, Grootvlei power station, Camden power station, and Arnot power station from a 2010 sulphur dioxide emissions control rule. The power stations were authorized to operate through 2030 without meeting the standard. In June 2024, Eskom indicated that it intended to apply for exemptions for Matla power station, Duvha power station, Tutuka power station, and Kendal power station as well.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.