Koeberg Nuclear power station
Photo by: Duane Daws
Parastatal Eskom on Monday stated that the 900 MW unit 2 at the Koeberg nuclear power station, in the Western Cape, would be back in service by the end of the week after a two-month scheduled shutdown for refuelling, inspection and maintenance.
The unit, taken offline on March 23, had been synchronised to the national grid and was slowly increasing its output as key safety and performance parameters were confirmed, South Africa’s power utility said in its biweekly system status bulletin.
However, the system remained tight, particularly over the evening peaks, as the colder weather conditions stimulated demand.
Including the operation of the open cycle gas turbines, electricity supply of 35 600 MW was expected to meet Monday’s peak demand of 34 356 MW.
Eskom’s current planned maintenance stood at 2 300 MW, with unplanned outages of 5 200 MW.
Peak demand of 33 965 MW was expected on Tuesday, followed by 33 998 MW on Wednesday, 33 902 MW on Thursday, 32 224 MW on Friday, 31 054 MW on Saturday and 31 334 MW on Sunday.