Cape Town - Eskom said that investigations are under way into the cause of the explosion on the Unit 4 generator at Medupi Power Station which occurred on Sunday night.
The power utility announced on Monday morning that Unit 4 of Medupi Power Station experienced an explosion on the Unit 4 generator at approximately 10:50pm.
The incident is suspected to have resulted in Unit 5 tripping.
“No injuries have been reported and all employees and contractors have been accounted for. Emergency services attended to seven colleagues requiring treatment for shock.
“Eskom will continue to provide support to the employees who might have been affected by the incident through its Employee Assistance Programme (EAP),” the power supplier said.
“Unit 4 was on a short-term outage (since August 6) when the incident occurred, and all work on the unit was suspended with immediate effect. This included the suspension of all permits to work on the plant until further notice.”
Eskom said the area was secured and once it was cleared by the fire chief and resident engineers; inspections and assessments would begin to determine the cause of the incident and extent of the damage caused.
Eskom added preparation for the return to service of Medupi Unit 5 was currently in progress.
“Investigations are under way into the cause of the incident and Eskom will update the public on developments, as well as to what extent this unfortunate incident will impact the national electricity grid.”
IOL