Koeberg: It wasn't the bolt

[bwana]

Cape Town - It was not, after all, the much-maligned bolt in the generator of Koeberg's unit one that plunged the Western Cape into a power crisis earlier this year.

"Loose magnetic material, not the bolt, damaged the generator's insulation which in turn damaged the rotor and stator rods," a report completed by Eskom's corporate technical audit department, the generation division and staff of the generation safety and insurance department states.

Eskom Chief Executive Thulani Gcabashe announced in January this year, at the beginning of the protracted power outages, that a loose bolt of about eight centimetres had been found in the unit's generator and the bolt had also caused the damage to the generator.

The same bolt landed Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin in hot water when he said the damage looked like sabotage.

It emerged from the report that "the bolt was not directly responsible for the damage".

Damn that pesky loose magnetic material. Thats why I keep mine stuck to the fridge door.

 

[dominic]

vindication of the Penguin Liberation Front

alec bolt instrumentality erwin really should just do the honourable thing and resign

viva the Emperor, viva

 

[bwana]

alec bolt instrumentality erwin really should just do the honourable thing and resign

If everyone did the right thing there would only be a couple of minister left.

Imagine the chaos.

 

[spiderz]

If everyone did the right thing there would only be a couple of minister left.

Imagine the chaos.

A couple left, jeesh UR optimistic today!

Still think they do shoddy maintenance at koeberg. If it was'nt for all the safty features build into that plant, we'd be glowing by now

 

[neio]

I wish I could see Alec Earwin in public, point my finger at him and say: HAHA, boltish substance, you dork!

 

[bwana]

A couple left, jeesh UR optimistic today!

Honestly I could only think of one - Trevor Manual (sp) but there are probably a few that I've missed. Benefit of the doubt.

 

[chiskop]

"A loose wing nut in the system"

 

[noxibox]

If everyone did the right thing there would only be a couple of minister left.

Imagine the chaos.

It could even result in rampant government efficiency

 

[Skeptik]

If only Eskom would get their stories straight. When we had one of the power outages in the Cape the first announcement said "load shedding", then someone said it was "power line shorting out" then they later said it was something else all along. They've lost all credibility.

 

[ajak]

"A loose wing nut in the system"

Afrikaans......VLIEGMOER

 

[icyrus]

Loose magnetic material, not the bolt, damaged the generator's insulation

Correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't a bolt qualify as "loose magnetic material"?

 

[jabulani]

LOL Remember this we-love-nukes thread:

Neither my husband nor I have seen any evidence of reduced maintenance at Koeberg.

And this, from the Natal Witness today:

A Cape electrical engineer, Hein Swart, said yesterday that the audit report was simply proof of Eskom's negligence.

“It’s naturally very interesting that even Eskom doesn’t know what really caused the damage to the generator,'' he said.

A serious shortage of experienced and trained employees, along with broken equipment and a lack of supervisory skills are some of the shortcomings also mentioned in the audit report.

The report adds that new and improved protective mechanisms had only been planned for 2007/08.