Eskom suspends Koeberg power station GM over performance issues

Eskom has announced it has placed Velaphi Ntuli, the general manager of its Koeberg nuclear power station, on suspension over issues related to performance.

The power utility confirmed Ntuli’s suspension in a statement sent on Friday evening, 4 June 2021. This is while an investigation into the performance of the Koeberg power station are conducted. Unit 1 at Koeberg has been on an outage since January 2021.

For now, the utility’s chief nuclear officer, Riedewaan Bakardien, will oversee all the operations of the Koeberg power station, in Ntuli’s absence.

“Eskom is currently experiencing load shedding that is affecting the entire country and its economy. One of Eskom’s biggest generating units with a capacity of 900MW, Koeberg Unit 1 has been on an outage since January 2021, and could have assisted in reducing the depth of loadshedding had the unit been brought back on time as originally planned”

Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha

Eskom’s delays at Koeberg power station

The power utility has also said there are no nuclear safety concerns at the Koeberg power station and that should it be necessary, more time will be allocated to finish all the outstanding work before returning unit 1 to the grid.

Mantshantsha added however that the unit in question at the power station, will be fixed by the end of the month.

“Eskom leadership has been concerned with outage performance at Koeberg nuclear power plant, and the recent outage on Unit 1 has again been plagued with delays resulting in significant slippage on the return to service date. The unit is currently planned to return to service during the third week of June,” he said.

“Eskom leadership and the board encourage Koeberg staff to continue to focus on the remaining outage work and safely returning Unit 1 as soon as possible, as it is an essential part of the national fleet of generating assets”