Koeberg power station will be shutting down for three months on Tuesday for maintenance, adding more impact to the shortage of power.
Eskom has finally given Westinghouse most of the documents relating to the nuclear tender
Westinghouse, the loser in a R4.1-billion tender to revamp Koeberg, claims some Eskom executives drove a revamp contract towards rival firm Areva.
Westinghouse Electric SA is aiming to get access to documents that made Eskom decide to award French company Areva to replace its steam generators.
The embattled parastatal needs a fighter at its helm, critics say
Westinghouse is demanding a review of the utility’s decision on Koeberg contract
Eskom’s energy margin has been extremely tight after 900MW was lost from the grid after a fault at Koeberg.
The National Nuclear Regulator gave assurances last week that it was working to incorporate lessons learned from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear incident.
A transatlantic row over a $250-million set of contracts for the replacement and upgrading of the Koeberg nuclear power station has been kept secret.
Despite objections from Greenpeace, the African National Congress considers nuclear power plants to satisfy rising energy demands.
Eskom confirmed on Friday that it had shut down unit one of the Koeberg power station to replace diaphragms on the valves in the main steam line.
Unit two of the Koeberg nuclear power station has commenced generating electricity, Eskom said on Thursday.
South Africa’s sole nuclear power plant, already producing only partial output, was in a state of complete shutdown on Saturday.
Eskom confirmed on Tuesday that it initiated a controlled shutdown of unit two of Koeberg power station near Cape Town following a technical fault.