An explosion and subsequent fireplace have broken unit 6 at Eskom’s ageing Kriel energy station in Mpumalanga.
In line with reviews, the incident might have been brought on by a burst oil pipe. Unit 6, one in all six items on the 3GW Kriel station, produces 500MW of electrical energy.
A report by The Citizen on Monday morning quoted Eskom as confirming the incident however the utility stated no load shedding is anticipated on account of the explosion.
The fireplace was reportedly extinguished on Sunday night time. “It was an oil pipe that bust however all [is] secure now. We’re nonetheless assessing the unit at Kriel,” Eskom spokeswoman Daphne Mokwena advised The Citizen. She assured the general public that the utility has “greater than sufficient capability to cater for demand”.
Vitality knowledgeable Anton Eberhard posted on X that he doesn’t consider Kriel unit 6 shall be repaired.
“Kriel energy unit 6 caught fireplace final night time – evidently from a burst oil pipe. I doubt will probably be repaired,” Eberhard posted. “Kriel was commissioned in 1979 – 6 x 500MW. Eskom talks about extending the life of those previous energy stations however ultimately they take themselves offline.”
South Africa has not had load shedding since 26 March.
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On Friday, Eskom stated whole unplanned outages over the earlier seven days had declined to 9.5GW, a big enchancment on the 16GW of unplanned losses in the identical interval final yr.
“The discount in unplanned outages signifies that extra technology capability is obtainable to satisfy the nation’s electrical energy demand. Moreover, it gives Eskom with the required capability to conduct extra deliberate upkeep actions, that are essential for additional enhancing the reliability and stability of the technology fleet,” it stated.
Kriel energy unit 6 caught fireplace final night time – evidently from a burst oil pipe. I doubt will probably be repaired. Kriel was commissioned in 1979 – 6 x 500MW. @Eskom_SA talks about extending the life of those previous energy stations however ultimately they take themselves offline. pic.twitter.com/V3tGtyOBYf
— Anton Eberhard (@AntonEberhard) November 4, 2024
The corporate additionally stated on Friday that South Africa ought to have sufficient technology capability for the subsequent 5 years, offered the EAF maintains a median of not less than 63%. This can assist financial development of as much as 2.6%/yr, Eskom’s system operator stated. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
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