JOHANNESBURG -- August 10, 2006 -- Honeywell has been awarded a three-year contract worth $41.4 million by Eskom, the national electricity utility of South Africa to provide the distributed control system in the reactivation unit and upgrade the company’s Grootvlei electric utility power plant, located near Heidelberg. Honeywell will supply its Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS), field instrumentation, basic design, engineering, fire detection, training simulation and installation services to the plant.
The upgrade will completely refurbish the automation and control systems for six power units, optimize operational efficiency, maximize production output and reduce the risk of errors for operators. Honeywell’s solutions will enable Eskom to restore and upgrade full operations at the 37-year-old power station. As a result, the plant will supply reliable peaking power of 1130 megawatts to the Eskom grid by the end of the fiscal year 2008. The project is also expected to create up to 700 jobs at Grootvlei over the next four years.
“The operational life of the individual units is expected to be 15 years from the date of return to commercial operation, with the total operational life of the station totaling 20 years,” said Brian Dames, managing director of Eskom’s Enterprises Division. “The Grootvlei plant, owned by Eskom, will be brought back on-line to meet the increased peak demand in South Africa.”
“The combination of Honeywell’s solutions with our locally-based engineering and services teams will provide Eskom with the robust, consistent support needed to provide a reliable power source for the people of South Africa,” said Jason Whitehead, regional general manager, Honeywell Process Solutions, Africa. “We see this as the beginning of a successful, long-term relationship between the two companies, and we look forward to seeing it grow.”
