One of the two units at the Koeberg nuclear power station near Cape Town was unexpectedly shut down on Thursday morning because of a technical problem, Eskom said.
Eskom chief executive Jacob Maroga said there was no need for concern, as Eskom had enough reserve capacity to supply the Western Cape.
Consumers should nevertheless be ”extra vigilant” in saving electricity until it was back up, he said.
”We are assessing how long it’s going to be down: maybe a day or two.”
He said the technical problem was on the electrical rather than the nuclear side of the facility.
The unit’s automatic safety shutdown had kicked in after a water leak into a generator, he said.
Koeberg’s units each supply 900MW of power. – Sapa