Power utility Eskom on Tuesday backed away from assurances given the day before that power supply to the Western Cape would be fully restored by mid-week.
The assurance was given by Eskom chief executive Thulani Gcabashe during a meeting with the Minerals and Energy as well as Public Enterprises departments to discuss the recent power outages.
But a statement on Tuesday said compliance with technical regulations would delay the restoration of power until later this week.
”The nature of a nuclear reactor is such that a very rigorous process must be followed in returning an unit to service,” spokesperson Tony Stott said.
”All technical parameters have to be within specification at every step of the process. This is done to ensure safe operation,” he added.
The statement added that if specifications were not met, returning the reactor to service had to be delayed until such time as they were all met.
”Assurance must also be given to the National Nuclear Regulator that all parameters are within the requirements of the nuclear licence conditions, including the stability of the transmission network in the Western Cape. Koeberg Unit 2 is thus likely to only return to service at the end of the week.”
Commenting on the situation in the Western Cape, Jacob Maroga, Eskom’s managing director transmission, said ”Eskom takes this matter very seriously and is actively seeking ways to optimise the supply of electricity to the region. Eskom continues to appeal to everybody to conserve energy and would like to thank municipalities and customers for their cooperation and assistance during this
difficult time.”
The Western Cape power grid ”tripped” on Saturday because of short circuits caused by a combination of heavy mist and a buildup of soot from the recent fires.
When both Koeberg’s reactors are in operation, the nuclear power station on the outskirts of Cape Town supplies just under half of the Western Cape’s peak electricity demand.
However, Unit 1 has been out of commission since Christmas Day after it was damaged by a loose bolt left behind during routine maintenance.
The second unit shut down on Saturday when the power grid became unstable — a legal requirement — and the Cape was left dependent on power transmitted from Mpumalanga along lines that run through Kimberley and De Aar.
But these lines can carry only 75% of the province’s peak demand of 3 800 megawatts.
When they approach capacity, as is currently the case, Eskom is forced to shut off power to entire areas in so-called ”rolling blackouts”.
Stott said the grid was stable on Tuesday and enough power was available to supply all areas with electricity, eight hours out of every ten.
Earlier in the day, opposition parties questioned the circumstances surrounding the power outages.
Democratic Alliance Cape Town mayoral candidate Helen Zille said reports of undisclosed problems at Koeberg over the weekend were liable to create serious concern among the public.
”The government must therefore immediately come clean about any unusual events that may have occurred there as a matter of urgency,” she said.
Independent Democrats mayoral candidate Simon Grindrod called for the National Nuclear Regulator to conduct an independent inquiry into the ongoing problems at Koeberg.
”There are just too many questions surrounding the timing and causes of the recent power cuts.
”For example, the public should be informed as to how a metal bolt came to be found inside a critical component of the Koeberg nuclear reactor several weeks ago,” he said.
This incident was unprecedented, resulting in Koeberg being unable to operate at capacity while new parts were being sourced.
Zille said the DA was also concerned about the city’s own role in exacerbating the current power crisis, which would worsen in the winter.
”In the first instance, the current administration has failed to keep the Athlone power station in working order, even though it has known for months about the shortages we will face due to a bolt left in a Koeberg reactor.”
Even though Athlone Power Station did not produce a large amount of electricity, it would at least be able to provide emergency relief to some crucial parts of the city during complete blackouts.
”The station is in fact supposed to be on standby as a back up supplier of power at all times so that the city does not get penalised by Eskom when it exceeds the basic limit of electricity that we are allowed to use.”
Zille said there had been an apparent lack of any contingency plan to deal with power outages.
”Where are the traffic police to help ease the congestion on our streets?
”And if Eskom is systematically shutting down power to certain areas while it deals with shortages, why has there been no public warning [on radio for example] to residents of these areas so that they can prepare themselves?” Zille asked.
Grindrod called on Capetonians to conserve energy in the same way they conserved water.
”The power crisis we now face is the result of over-development in Cape Town over the last two decades.
”It is clear that Eskom is facing the combined problems of ageing infrastructure and lack of a modern and efficient electricity supply network.
”The simple fact is that the irritating power cuts our citizens now suffer have been anticipated for a very long time. We believe that the energy mix of Cape Town should have been diversified a long time ago and, in particular, we should have made greater renewable energy options to which Cape Town is very well positioned to exploit,” Grindrod said.
On Monday, Minerals and Energy department spokesperson Yvonne Mfolo said government initiatives were at an advanced stage to bring an additional 2 000 megawatts through independent power producers and Eskom.
These power stations would be located at Atlantis, Saldanha and in Port Elizabeth. The project was being fast-tracked to ensure it would be ready for operation during the first half of 2007.
But DA energy spokesperson Hendrik Schmidt said the government had not done enough to deregulate the electricity generating industry so as to allow independent power producers to participate.
Nor had it done enough to promote use of low-energy bulbs and solar water heaters.
Meanwhile, Western Cape agriculture MEC Cobus Dowry warned the power failures across the province over the weekend posed a big threat to farmers as they seriously affected farming operations.
”The catastrophic impact of cellars and cooling facilities without electricity, irrigation pumps without electricity and sorting machines without electricity is now threatening the success of months of hard labour,” he said.
Farmers had also been recovering from drought, a devastating hailstorm and the fuel shortage.
He said Eskom did inform organised agriculture earlier this year that more planned power cuts were on the cards.
However, the cuts over the weekend were not planned and would have an impact on farming operations, especially as fruit needed to be stored at certain temperatures to be of export quality. – Sapa