Matla Power Station

Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom and consuming the output from the Matla coal mine.

Matla Power Station
Location of Matla Power Station in South Africa
Country	South Africa
Location	Mpumalanga
Coordinates	26°16′57″S 29°8′27″E
Commission date	1983
Owner	Eskom
Operator	Eskom
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
Power generation
Units operational	6[1]
Nameplate capacity	3,600 Megawatt[1]

History

Construction started in 1974, and the last unit was commissioned in July 1983. In 1981, the southernmost smokestack measuring 276 metres (906 ft) in height was demolished after it partially collapsed during construction, killing 4 workers. It held the world record for the tallest free standing structure to be explosively demolished ^[2][3] for 24 years until the 2006 demolition of the 300 metres (980 ft) Westerholt Power Station^[4] chimney.

The actual explosion was also used in a gag in Jamie Uys' Funny People 2, where an electrician is instructed to do some wiring and is warned that improper connection will cause the stack to explode.^[5]

See also

• South Africa portal
• Energy portal

• Eskom
• Fossil-fuel power plant
• List of power stations in South Africa

External links

• Matla Power Station on the Eskom-Website

References

1. "MATLA POWER STATION". Eskom. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
2. "Implosion World Records". ImplosionWorld. Archived from the original on 2023-04-22. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
3. "MATLA POWER STATION". Eskom. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
4. "The Raw Story | Experts demolish 300-metre power station chimney in Germany". rawstory.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-04.
5. "Funny People II". IMDB.