Camden Power Station in

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, is a

coal-fired power plant A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are about 2,500 coal-fired power stations, on average capable of generating a gigawatt each. They generate a ...

operated by

Eskom Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the larg ...

History

Camden was commissioned in 1967. Between 1990 and 2006 the station was mothballed, but South Africa's energy crisis in the early 21st century prompted

to recommission the station, starting with unit 6 in July 2005 and completing with unit 1 in July 2008.

Power generation

Power is generated by eight 200 MW units with a total installed capacity on 1,600 MW. Coal energy to electrical

energy conversion efficiency Energy conversion efficiency (''η'') is the ratio between the useful output of an energy conversion machine and the input, in energy terms. The input, as well as the useful output may be chemical, electric power, mechanical work, light (radi ...

is 33.40% In the Integrated results for 2015, nominal capacity is listed as 1,481 MW with gross capacity of 1,561 MW (3 x 200 MW; 1 x 196 MW; 2 x 195 MW; 1 x 190 MW; 1 x 185 MW). The four chimneys of Camden Power Station are 152.4 metres (500 ft) tall.

Power distribution

In addition to feeding the South African grid, Camden, along with Arnot Power Station, also feeds the Mozal Aluminium smelter in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

via 400 kV transmission lines. Mozal consumes around 950 MW.

Crime

In November 2022, Eskom reported multiple arrests at Camden Power Station, which were linked to sabotage, coal theft and coal fraud. A contractor, intending to land additional maintenance and repair jobs, intentionally drained oil from an oil burner bearing which caused the burners to trip repeatedly. Truck drivers were also arrested for their possession of substandard (coal mixed with worthless material) or stolen coal which was to be delivered to Eskom. Mid-December 2022, at the request of the Minister of Public Enterprises,

Pravin Gordhan Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan (12 April 1949 – 13 September 2024) was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist who held various ministerial posts in the Cabinet of South Africa. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014, ...

, and President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

, Minister of Defence Thandi Modise deployed a small contingent of SANDF troops at the station (besides Majuba, Grootvlei and Tutuka) due to a growing threat of sabotage, theft, vandalism and corruption.

References

External links

Camden Power Station
on the