Koeberg unit 1 to return to service in November

The Koeberg nuclear power station north of Cape Town. Image: Eskom

The mechanical replacement of the steam generators in unit 1 of the Koeberg nuclear power station was completed on 28 July. This was the most complex part of the maintenance and it means Eskom can now proceed with the outage activities that could not be performed at the same time as the steam generators were being replaced.

Immediately after the outage activities are complete, the reactor will be reloaded with fuel, enabling the unit to return to service. The commissioning, including the necessary tests of the new steam generators, will take place while the unit is synchronised to the grid.

The outage of unit 2 has been postponed to 7 November to ensure that there is no simultaneous shutdown

Unit 1 is planned to be commercially available on 3 November, Eskom said.

The outage of unit 2 has been postponed to 7 November to ensure that there is no simultaneous shutdown of both units – the resources are ready to start the first activities of the unit 2 outage.

The replacement of the steam generators is the last of the large components that Eskom deemed necessary to be replaced to operate the Koeberg units for another 20 years.

The new steam generators are more efficient and will produce an additional 27MW while enabling Koeberg to continue generating electricity for years.

Read: Koeberg woes raise serious questions

Eskom said the amendment of the operating licence will enable Koeberg to continue providing safe, clean and reliable power to the grid, and playing the essential role of stabilising supply in the Western Cape, which unit 2 has safely continued to do with an excellent energy availability factor of 94.87%, while unit 1 was on outage. – © 2023 NewsCentral Media