Trade union Solidarity on Thursday said there were indications that State-owned power utility Eskom was on track for a mid-February synchronisation of Medupi Unit 6.

Eskom had delayed the synchronisation of the first of the power plant’s power generating units several times; however, Solidarity members and shop stewards have reported to the union that “good progress” was being made after the parastatal missed the December 24 synchronisation deadline.

The embattled Eskom, which has been experiencing major delays and cost overruns at its two coal-fired megaprojects Medupi and Kusile, earlier reported that the synchronisation of Unit 6 was only “weeks away”, with a June 2015 deadline set for bringing the 794 MW unit officially into commercial operation.

Solidarity head of energy Deon Reyneke, who visited the Medupi site on Wednesday, pointed out that the synchronisation would only take place if no unforeseen problems arose.

“We believe and trust that, if all goes well, Eskom will be able to complete the synchronisation of this unit by the middle of February,” he said.

However, Reyneke said Solidarity had launched an investigation into allegations that Eskom was taking “various shortcuts to make up for lost time”.

“If Eskom is disregarding vital measures, the country and its power grid will suffer the consequences for a long time to come,” Reyneke said.

Eskom had not responded to questions posed by Engineering News Online at the time of publication.