Operations at Camden power station resumed on Thursday after a four-month shutdown, Eskom has said. 

In a statement, the power utility said a project to relocate ash from an unsafe dam at the station in Mpumalanga had been successful. 

"Unit 8 was today synchronised onto the grid, with Unit 5 expected to return to service tomorrow afternoon," Eskom said, adding that five other units would start returning to service from 1 September. 

Operations at the station had been suspended on 24 April this year, following the outcome of review by a professional body Eskom had contracted to conduct a risk assessment on the ash dam's structural integrity. The contractor found that the dam had reached its maximum height and posed a safety risk to personnel and neighbouring communities, and could also "be a cause for environmental contravention if not attended to", the power utility explained. 

Nearly 800 000 cubic metres of ash have been removed from the dam, including 300 000 cubic metres that are being moved by road to an open cast mine for beneficiation. 

The next phase of the project will involve excavating 800 000 cubic metres from the north side of the dam to a mine for beneficiation, Eskom said. This phase is set to be completed by the end of November. 

* Compiled by Marelise van der Merwe