Eskom boasted a milestone in its efforts to overcome South Africa’s chronic electricity shortages, saying it had linked the last of four units at its new Ingula hydro-electric power plant to the grid, reported Reuters.

The utility, which provides power for Africa’s most developed economy, is also adding new plants. In a statement, Eskom said that unit one of the hydro-powered Ingula plant,  added an additional 333 MW to the grid.

The $1.7b plant was being constructed since 2006 and expected to be fully operational in 2017. All four units are to produce an electric capacity of 1,332 MW.

Eskom’s CEO, Brian Molefe, said: “We look forward to Ingula rapidly nearing commercial completion and meeting the 2017 deadline, thereby enhancing the security of Eskom’s electricity supply to power South Africa into the future,” Daily Mail wrote.

Eskom, which has in the past been forced to impose power cuts to prevent demand surging past capacity, has been scrambling to repair its ageing power plants and grid.