Koeberg without half its capacity due to transformer failure

2015-3-2

 South Africa, Johannesburg: South Africa's only nuclear power plant Koeberg has left without nearly 1,000 MW of electricity due to a technical failure in the main generator transformer.

“Unit 1 of the Koeberg power station is currently out of service due to a technical fault on the main generator transformer at the power station, which resulted in the unit being isolated from the national grid,” the utility said in a statement.

This has placed more strain on the power grid after the utility implemented cuts for three consecutive days last week to try to prevent the national grid from being overwhelmed.

Koeberg, located in the Western Cape, has two units, each feeding 930 MW to the national grid which needs about 30 000 MW to meet daily consumption needs.