CAPE TOWN - Energy lobby group Koeberg Alert Alliance (KAA) has called on Eskom to expedite the scheduled maintenance on Unit 2 at the nuclear power station, saying it was disingenuous to call the scheduled maintenance a “refuelling outage” which could last five months.
Eskom confirmed at the weekend that Unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station would be taken off-line from Monday for a regular refuelling and maintenance outage.
During this outage the reactor pressure vessel head, which houses the nuclear fuel while the station is in operation, will also be replaced.
KAA spokesperson Charmaine Koppehel said a refuelling would take only a month.
“It is about as accurate as saying your car is going to the mechanic for refuelling and by the way, while busy filling the tank they will also replace the gearbox. The vast majority of the cost and the duration will be to do refurbishment, so it is more accurate to call this a refurbishment outage.
“A refuelling outage takes just over four weeks, and this outage will be either 90 days, 150 days, 155 days or 165 days depending on which Eskom statement one chooses to believe. In the MYPD5 application submitted to the National Energy Regulator (Nersa), Eskom said the refurbishment outage would be 90 days. This January 15 statement says five months, previous statements by Eskom said 155 days and a presentation by Eskom in November 2021 said it would be 165 days (nearly 24 weeks) before the unit could be connected to the grid again,” said Koppehel.
The KAA has called on Eskom to bring Unit 2 online before the end of February.
Cape Times