SA outage dims power supply

NAMIBIANS have been urged to cut down on electricity use after the second unit at South Africa’s nuclear power plant at Koeberg tripped on Friday.

The plant’s first unit is not operating as it is undergoing maintenance after experiencing problems in its cooling system. The second unit has been brought back online, but not on full load.The other unit is only expected to start operating again in about three weeks.NamPower appealed to the public is to implement electricity-saving measures like switching off all non-essential electrical equipment including air-conditioning, geysers, heaters and swimming-pool pumps to reduce the demand for electricity.”We wish to remind our customers and the public that the electricity supply situation remains critical,” Kaimu said.”One of the Koeberg nuclear station’s 900 MW units near Cape Town was switched off [on] Monday last week due to technical problems experienced and maintenance on the unit started on Tuesday to be completed within three weeks,” John Kaimu, Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager of NamPower, said in a statement.”So far Namibia has not experienced major disruptions of electricity supply and we are in constant contact with suppliers in the region, including Eskom, to ensure sufficient procurement and supply of electricity to Namibia,” he added.”Given the fact that the first unit remains out for maintenance and the second one is currently running at a sixth of the total capacity, 300 megawatt (MW) instead of the usual 1 800 MW, Namibia remains vulnerable,” Kaimu said.”We are in constant contact with our trading partners and monitor the situation very closely to ensure updated information regarding any developments that might cause major interruptions in supply to Namibia.”South African power utility Eskom said had it ordered a controlled shutdown of unit two of the Koeberg station following the technical fault detected in the cooling system.”The nuclear reactor side of the unit has not been affected and will be kept in a safe and stable condition,” Eskom announced after the first shutdown.Repairs would take about three weeks to complete, increasing the vulnerability of the country’s power system, particularly in the Western Cape.”Eskom will do all it can to mitigate the increased vulnerability during this period.This includes increasing the use of the two new open-cycle gas-turbine stations in the Cape,” the utility said.However, two of its other power stations, Majuba and Duvha, also reported technical problems last week, throttling Eskom’s electricity output.The second unit has been brought back online, but not on full load.The other unit is only expected to start operating again in about three weeks.NamPower appealed to the public is to implement electricity-saving measures like switching off all non-essential electrical equipment including air-conditioning, geysers, heaters and swimming-pool pumps to reduce the demand for electricity.”We wish to remind our customers and the public that the electricity supply situation remains critical,” Kaimu said. “One of the Koeberg nuclear station’s 900 MW units near Cape Town was switched off [on] Monday last week due to technical problems experienced and maintenance on the unit started on Tuesday to be completed within three weeks,” John Kaimu, Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager of NamPower, said in a statement.”So far Namibia has not experienced major disruptions of electricity supply and we are in constant contact with suppliers in the region, including Eskom, to ensure sufficient procurement and supply of electricity to Namibia,” he added.”Given the fact that the first unit remains out for maintenance and the second one is currently running at a sixth of the total capacity, 300 megawatt (MW) instead of the usual 1 800 MW, Namibia remains vulnerable,” Kaimu said.”We are in constant contact with our trading partners and monitor the situation very closely to ensure updated information regarding any developments that might cause major interruptions in supply to Namibia.”South African power utility Eskom said had it ordered a controlled shutdown of unit two of the Koeberg station following the technical fault detected in the cooling system.”The nuclear reactor side of the unit has not been affected and will be kept in a safe and stable condition,” Eskom announced after the first shutdown.Repairs would take about three weeks to complete, increasing the vulnerability of the country’s power system, particularly in the Western Cape.”Eskom will do all it can to mitigate the increased vulnerability during this period.This includes increasing the use of the two new open-cycle gas-turbine stations in the Cape,” the utility said.However, two of its other power stations, Majuba and Duvha, also reported technical problems last week, throttling Eskom’s electricity output.