Koeberg
Photo by: Duane Daws
Westinghouse Electric Company has filed an application to the High Court of South Africa, charging power utility Eskom with contempt of court, owing to what it said was the utility’s failure to deliver documentation, as ordered by the court, to Westinghouse within five calendar days of September 5.
The documents related to the R4.3-billion tender for the replacement of steam generators at Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station, which the utility had awarded to France’s Areva.
In late October, the utility had issued a statement, insisting that it had “fully complied” with the court order instructing it to hand documentation over to Westinghouse.
However, Westinghouse, on Thursday, said its latest court application had followed several unsuccessful attempts by its legal representatives to obtain “important files relating to the tender selection process”.
“Westinghouse will continue to exercise all of its legal rights to ensure the actions and decisions of the Eskom management during the tender process are transparent,” it added.
The company believed that, if the timeline for the legal review process, as set down by the court, was adhered to by all parties, there should be no delay with the replacement of the six steam generators at the Koeberg power station in 2018.