The first unit at Tutuka was commissioned in June 1985 and the last went online in June 1990.
Power generation
The station has six 609MW units with a total installed capacity of 3,654MW with turbine Maximum Continuous Rating at 38.00%. Tutuka is an important link in the 765kV extra-high-voltage transmission system linking Mpumalanga with the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.[1]
Crime and corruption
In 2020 the installation of a substandard submerged scraper chain at unit 5 of Tutuka was thwarted.[2] These items were the cause of many breakdowns at Tutuka. The investigation that followed uncovered widespread and costly corruption which exploited lax equipment ordering and warehousing.[2] In November 2021 two persons employed by the station and a supplier of goods and services were arrested. They were charged with theft, fraud and corruption in connection with the disappearance of spares.[3] It was further alleged that four persons operated an oil crime syndicate which had been stealing large amounts of fuel from the station, valued at hundreds of millions of rand.[4] Mid-December 2022, at the request of the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, and President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of Defence Thandi Modise deployed a small contingent of SANDF troops at the station (besides at Camden, Majuba and Grootvlei) to curb a growing threat of sabotage, theft, vandalism and corruption.[5]