CAPE TOWN, March 4 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's national electricity utility, Eskom, on Friday said it has decided to defer the replacement of steam generators at Unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station due to expected delay that could impacts electricity supply during the high-demand winter season.
The replacement is part of a requirement for extending the operation of Koeberg, in northern Cape Town, for 20 more years after its original lifespan ends in 2024.
Koeberg, South Africa's only nuclear power station, is a significant contributor to meeting the country's electricity demand, according to Eskom.
Its two units, at 920 megawatts (MW) each, are the largest generating units on the African continent.
"Due to the potential severe impact of returning this unit later than June 2022 as initially planned, the decision has been made to defer the SGR to the next outage on this unit, planned for August 2023," Eskom said in a statement.
The deferral does not impact the safe operation of the plant or its life extension plan, which requires the replacement of the steam generators on both units, Eskom said.
The replacement on Unit 1 will start in this September as planned, it said.
The extension plan is opposed by some local residents who are concerned about the operation safety and complain of lack of transparency. ■
