Colenso Power Station
Encyclopedia
Colenso Power Station was a coal-fired power station, located in Colenso
on the banks of the Tugela
River. It was built in the 1920's by the South African Railways to supply electricity for the railways, but was subsequently sold to the Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom
).
Building work started in 1921 and the power station was opened in 1926 with a capacity of 60 MW. Initially it only provided power for the 274 km section of the Glencoe
– Pietermaritzburg
part of the Durban-Johannesburg railway – the area that not only had the greatest gradients, but also the area that was closest to the coalfields of the Glencoe region. Power generated at Colenso was distributed at 88,000 Volt to twelve substation where it was converted to 6,600 Volt and then to 3,000 Volt DC current by Synchronous motor
generators for use by the railways.
The power station was sold to the Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom
) in January 1927. It used coal that was brought in by rail from the coalfields of North Natal and water from the Tugela. It continued to be to provider of electrical power for the railways which by 1937 consisted of the whole of the Natal section of the Durban – Johannesburg line (516 route km) and the 229 km spur to Bethlehem
in the Orange Free State. Between 1944 and 1959 a series of new generators were commissioned resulting in the power station’s capacity being increased to 160 MW. However, in the 1960s, changes in technology led to a change in the economics of power production. New power stations such as Ingagane were built at the coal fields themselves and the use 400 kVA power lines from 1972 onwards reduced the cost of transporting electricity. This meant that the continued use of the Colenso power station was no longer economically viable. The original part of the power station was decommissioned in 1970 and the 1944-1959 extensions in 1985.
Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal
Colenso is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is located on the southern bank of the Tugela River. The original settlement was contained within a loop on the river, but it subsequently expanded southwards and eastwards...
on the banks of the Tugela
Tugela
Tugela is a brown Thoroughbred mare. Bred by Khalid Abdullah's prominent Juddmonte Farms. Tugela was sired by Riverman and out of Rambushka who in turn was a daughter of Epsom Derby winner, Roberto, a two-time Leading sire in France.Tugela is best known as the dam of Makybe Diva , the champion...
River. It was built in the 1920's by the South African Railways to supply electricity for the railways, but was subsequently sold to the Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom
Eskom
Eskom is a South African electricity public utility, established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission by the government of South Africa in terms of the Electricity Act . It was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie . The two acronyms were combined in 1986 and...
).
History
Steep gradients on the Natal section of South African Railways, particularly in the Natal Midlands meant that electricfication could well be beneficial, particularly if regenerative braking was employed. In 1921 the estimated cost of the electrification project, inclusive of the Power Station was .Building work started in 1921 and the power station was opened in 1926 with a capacity of 60 MW. Initially it only provided power for the 274 km section of the Glencoe
Glencoe, KwaZulu-Natal
Glencoe is situated in the Umzinyathi District District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.The main economic activity in the area is coal mining while sheep and cattle ranching are also practiced.-History:...
– Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
part of the Durban-Johannesburg railway – the area that not only had the greatest gradients, but also the area that was closest to the coalfields of the Glencoe region. Power generated at Colenso was distributed at 88,000 Volt to twelve substation where it was converted to 6,600 Volt and then to 3,000 Volt DC current by Synchronous motor
Synchronous motor
A synchronous electric motor is an AC motor distinguished by a rotor spinning with coils passing magnets at the same rate as the power supply frequency and resulting rotating magnetic field which drives it....
generators for use by the railways.
The power station was sold to the Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom
Eskom
Eskom is a South African electricity public utility, established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission by the government of South Africa in terms of the Electricity Act . It was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie . The two acronyms were combined in 1986 and...
) in January 1927. It used coal that was brought in by rail from the coalfields of North Natal and water from the Tugela. It continued to be to provider of electrical power for the railways which by 1937 consisted of the whole of the Natal section of the Durban – Johannesburg line (516 route km) and the 229 km spur to Bethlehem
Bethlehem, Free State
Bethlehem is a town in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that is situated on the Liebenbergs river along a fertile valley just south of the Rooiberg Mountains on the N5 highway....
in the Orange Free State. Between 1944 and 1959 a series of new generators were commissioned resulting in the power station’s capacity being increased to 160 MW. However, in the 1960s, changes in technology led to a change in the economics of power production. New power stations such as Ingagane were built at the coal fields themselves and the use 400 kVA power lines from 1972 onwards reduced the cost of transporting electricity. This meant that the continued use of the Colenso power station was no longer economically viable. The original part of the power station was decommissioned in 1970 and the 1944-1959 extensions in 1985.