Eskom announced the return of Koeberg Unit 2 from unplanned maintenance, after a steam leak on the reheat system.
As a result, about 930 Megawatts (MW) were brought back into the system.
Eskom said this happened on Sunday, 9 March, at 18:17, in accordance with established operational safety protocols.
Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom Group Executive for
Generation, said “Koeberg is a key contributor as part of Eskom’s energy generation mix and stabilising electricity supply in South Africa by providing reliable baseload power. It helps increase the energy security of the country and provides critical megawatts to close our national energy supply gap, and it will continue to play a key role as Eskom moves aggressively into delivering a cleaner energy portfolio.”
Maintenance on Koeberg Unit 1 is still underway, including fuel refuelling and statutory tests and is expected to contribute over 930MW to the grid for another 20 years.
Health and safety concerns were raised by residents and organizations against nuclear power stations, such as the Koeberg Alert Alliance.
Eskom said the safe design, operation, maintenance and improvement of Koeberg over the past 40 years, paved the way for the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) to grant it a licence on Monday, 15 July 2024, for the continued operation of Koeberg Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 until 21 July 2044.
Unit 2 is scheduled to extend its operations for another 20 years, requiring a licence prior to the 9 November 2025.