Unit 1 of Eskom’s Koeberg Nuclear Power Station has been shut down for refuelling purposes.
Power station manager Velaphi Ntuli said Unit 1 currently holds a record of running for 400 days without being interrupted -- a milestone that was achieved in December 2017.
Ntuli added that Unit 2 of the country’s sole nuclear power plant that is located in the Western Cape is operating optimally.
“Koeberg Unit 2 is currently operating optimally and is contributing 930 MW to the national grid. Every 15 to 18 months a unit is shut down for refuelling, maintenance and statutory inspections. Outages are scheduled to avoid having both units out of service at the same time. This routine maintenance is part of Eskom’s overall maintenance programme for its generation units,” he said on Monday.
He added that during the routine outages, one third of the used nuclear fuel is replaced with new fuel.
“Maintenance, plant modifications, inspections and statutory work is done to ensure that international safety standards continue to be met and that reliable plant performance continues,” said Ntuli.
The unit is expected to return to service at the end of May. - SAnews.gov.za
