Matla Power Station
{{Short description|Power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa}}
{{Infobox power station
|name = Matla Power Station
|image =
|image_caption =
|location_map_caption= Location of Matla Power Station in South Africa
|country = South Africa
|location = Mpumalanga
| coordinates = {{coord|26|16|57|S|29|8|27|E|type:landmark_region:ZA-MP|display=inline,title}}
|owner = Eskom
|status =
|th_fuel_primary =
|th_combined_cycle =
|ps_electrical_capacity= 3,600 Megawatt{{cite web|url=http://www.eskom.co.za/c/article/43/matla-power-station/|title=MATLA POWER STATION|publisher=Eskom|accessdate=12 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506174453/http://www.eskom.co.za/c/article/43/matla-power-station/|archive-date=6 May 2012|url-status=dead}}
|commissioned = 1983
|decommissioned =
}}
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.
History
Construction started in 1974, and the last unit was commissioned in July 1983. In 1981, the southernmost smokestack measuring {{convert|276|m}} 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 {{cite web|url=http://www.implosionworld.com/records.htm|title=Implosion World Records|publisher=ImplosionWorld|accessdate=12 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422113224/https://implosionworld.com/records.htm|archive-date=2023-04-22}}{{cite web|url=http://www.eskom.co.za/sites/heritage/Pages/MATLAPOWERSTATION.aspx|title=MATLA POWER STATION|publisher=Eskom|accessdate=23 March 2019}} for 24 years until the 2006 demolition of the {{convert|300|m}} Westerholt Power Station{{cite web |url=http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Experts_demolish_300_metre_power_st_12032006.html |title=The Raw Story {{!}} Experts demolish 300-metre power station chimney in Germany |website=rawstory.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504060927/http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Experts_demolish_300_metre_power_st_12032006.html |archive-date=2014-05-04}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085571/|title=Funny People II|publisher=IMDB}}
See also
{{Portal|South Africa|Energy}}
External links
- [http://www.eskom.co.za/Whatweredoing/ElectricityGeneration/PowerStations/Pages/Matla_Power_Station.aspx Matla Power Station] on the Eskom-Website
References
{{reflist}}
{{Power in South Africa |state=collapsed}}
{{National Key Points navbox}}
Category:Coal-fired power stations in South Africa
Category:Towers in South Africa
Category:Chimneys in South Africa
Category:Buildings and structures in Mpumalanga
Category:Economy of Mpumalanga
Category:Building and structure collapses in 1981