Eskom is South Africa's primary electricity supplier and supplies some 95 per cent of the country's electricity requirements - more than half of the power generated in the whole of Africa. Eskom is responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity from its 24 power stations, with a combined nominal capacity of 40,585 megawatts. Eskom’s distribution base is comprised of 47 509 km of distribution lines, 311831 km of reticulation power lines and 11415 km of underground cables in South Africa, representing the largest power line system on the continent of Africa. Since 1991 Eskom has connected more than 4.2 million electrification households to the distribution network.
Electricity is transported along power lines from the power stations to the areas where it is needed. Houses and factories cannot all be next to power stations and the electricity is therefore transported to consumers at high voltages which make up for losses that occur over long distances and limit the number of power lines needed. Transmission lines usually consist of overhead conductors suspended from transmission towers. In many built-up areas, underground cables are used instead of overhead lines.
The overhead power lines transmit electricity at voltages ranging from 22 kV up to 765 kV. Eskom is the first utility in the world to successfully operate transmission lines at 765 kV. Conductors are made of aluminium and steel in various combinations and in various shapes and sizes. Aluminum is used because it is a good conductor of electricity. Steel is used to add strength.
When electricity arrives at the distribution station, bulk supplies of electricity at 22 kV are taken for primary distribution to towns and industrial areas, groups of villages, farms and similar concentrations of consumers. The lines are fed into intermediate substations where transformers reduce the voltage to 11 kV. Secondary distribution lines radiating from these substations carry the power into the areas to be supplied and terminate at distribution substations. Here the voltage is reduced to its final level of 380 and 220 volts for use in shops, office buildings, schools and homes.
The cache is located at a typical power distribution station.
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