French energy solutions group Alstom acknowledged on Tuesday that tests performed on the boiler protection system (BPS), which forms part of the control and instrumentation (C&I) solution to be installed at the Medupi power station, had not been “fully satisfactory”.

However, in a statement released a day after Eskom announced that the start of the first Medupi unit, Unit 6, had been delayed until the second half of 2014, from the end of 2013, Alstom said it remained confident of delivering its commitments for Medupi “in line with agreed timeframes”.

It described the BPS as a “complex system”, and the requested Medupi configuration as “demanding”.

“No other coal plant has ever been built on this scale. Alstom’s engineers and technicians are committed to resolving all the pending issues with utmost speed,” the company said.

It also argued that the delays could not be attributed to a single contractor, noting that several other contractors were also facing technical problems at Medupi.

“The project has been through critical development phases in recent months, with part of the delivery being delayed due to continued and lengthy labour strikes on site.”

Earlier Eskom confirmed the second half of 2014 as the new, "realistic" deadline for synchronising Medupi's first unit to the grid.

The announcement following an independent assessment and fresh delays to the C&I contract.

Eskom also confirmed that the cost of the project had increased from R91.2-billion to R105-billion, excluding interest during construction.

CEO Brian Dames said that a commercial strategy would be put in place in an effort to recover the additional costs from contractors that failed to deliver. However, he warned that such a recovery process would take time to conclude.

Eskom was also engaging with alternative C&I suppliers, particularly those that had supplied solutions for other power stations within the utility’s fleet.

Alstom said its involvement in the construction of the Medupi and Kusile power stations was a source of great pride for the company and represented a significant portion of Alstom Thermal Power’s South African operations, which included servicing 12 of Eskom's 13 power stations.

Besides the C&I contract, the group is supplying 12 turbine islands across the Medupi and Kusile projects.