Colenso Power Station

Colenso Power Station
Location of Colenso Power Station
Country	South Africa
Coordinates	28°43′51″S 29°49′36″E / 28.73083°S 29.82667°E / -28.73083; 29.82667Coordinates: 28°43′51″S 29°49′36″E / 28.73083°S 29.82667°E / -28.73083; 29.82667
Status	Decommissioned
Commission date	1926
Decommission date	1984
Power station information
Primary fuel	Coal
Generation units	5
Power generation information
Installed capacity	160 Megawatt

External images
	Photo of the power station as seen from across the Tugela river at Eskom Heritage
	Photo of the Colenso turbines and boilers at Eskom heritage

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,^[1] but was subsequently sold to the Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom).

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.^[2] In 1921 the estimated cost of the electrification project, inclusive of the Power Station was GB£2,033,000.^[3]

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.^[4][5]

The power station was sold to the Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom) in January 1927.^[6] 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 ^[7] 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.

See also

• SAR Class 1E
• Railway electrification system

References

1. ^ "South African Railways Power Plant". Electric Railway Journal 60 (24): 914. 9 December 1922. http://www.archive.org/stream/electricrailwayj60mcgrrich#page/914/mode/1up. Retrieved 15 September 2010. 
2. ^ "SOUTH AFRICAN ELECTRIFICATION". Mike's Railway History. http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r025.html. Retrieved 2008-10-28. 
3. ^ "Great Britain and the Colonies". Electric Railway Journal 57 (1): 33. 1 January 1921. http://www.archive.org/stream/electricrailwayj57mcgrrich#page/n104/mode/1up. Retrieved 15 September 2010. 
4. ^ Brazil, H (1928). "The South African Railways Electrification". Electrical Substations. Edward Arnold & Co. p. 110. http://www.archive.org/stream/electricalsubsta017168mbp#page/n115/mode/1up. Retrieved 2010-01-12. 
5. ^ Brazil, H (1928). "IX - Traction Substations". Electrical Substations. Edward Arnold and Co. p. 110. http://www.archive.org/stream/electricalsubsta017168mbp#page/n115/mode/1up. Retrieved 15 September 2010. 
6. ^ "Natal Central Undertaking". Eskom Heritage. http://heritage.eskom.co.za/heritage/annualreports/1927/1927%20Ntlcentralgeneral9to10.pdf. Retrieved 11 January 2010. 
7. ^ "Ingagane Power Station". Eskom Heritage. http://heritage.eskom.co.za/heritage/ingagane.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-10.