Koeberg's Unit 1 shut down for refuelling

Power station manager Velaphi Ntuli says Unit 2 is operating optimally, contributing 930MW to the national grid. "Every 15 to 18 months, a unit is shut down for refuelling, maintenance and statutory inspections. Outages are scheduled to avoid having both units out of service at the same time. This routine maintenance is part of Eskom’s overall maintenance programme for its generation units."

He added that during the 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 says

The unit is expected to return to service at the end of May.