Unit 1 of the Koeberg nuclear power station has been shut down for a refuelling outage and is expected to return to service at the end of May.
“Koeberg Unit 2 is currently operating optimally and is contributing 930 MW to the national grid,” Koeburg power station manager Velaphi Ntuli said in a statement on Monday.
One of the power station’s units is shut down every 15 to 18 months for refuelling, maintenance and statutory inspections. Outages are scheduled to avoid having both units out of service at the same time.
“During these routine outages, one-third of the used nuclear fuel is replaced with new fuel. Maintenance, plant modifications, inspections and statutory work is done to ensure that international safety standards continue to be met and that reliable plant performance continues,” he said.
Unit 1 currently holds a record of running for 400 days without being interrupted, a milestone that was achieved in December 2017.