Koeberg to undergo maintenance

The station's unit two is being refuelled and will undergo maintenance. 

This was revealed in Limpopo yesterday when President Jacob Zuma officially opened one of six generating units at the Medupi Power Station. 

The units will add an extra 800 megawatts to the country's power grid bringing some relief to the constrained system. 

Zuma's acknowledged the recent blackouts have inconvenienced residents and affected economic growth.

"We have waited very long for this day to begin seeing some energy coming out of this station. The beginning of the commercial operation of Unit 6 has demonstrated that this project is making progress," he said.

Energy expert Chris Yelland says the opening of Medupi has been long over due.  

He believes maintenance at Koeberg could leave Eskom with another challenge. 

"We must be prepared for intermittent load shedding on an ongoing basis. Industrial demand for electricity picks up sharply on September 1 because very high Winter prices come to an end at the end of August," he said.

(File photo: Gallo Images)