Koeberg unit 1 synchronisation delayed again

I wonder who is responsible for the synchronising; the Frogs, Eskom or a subcontractor?If it's the Frogs they be in a corner swilling red wine, planning their next Cape outing and telling Eskom whatever they fancy. If it's Eskom (or its subcontractor), much angaz'ing and where are we going for dinner; it will get done when it gets done.
 
wingnut771 said:
All I'm saying is that probably the same thing has happened again in this instance, the journalists have repeated verbatim what Eskom told them.
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It would have a direct quote in the article if it was the case, do you see there are some parts in the article that have a direct quote to show that is quoted exactly as said by Eskom. That is journalism 101.

Eskom is confident that Koeberg Power Station’s two nuclear generators will be operational in time to renew the power station’s operating licence.

However, the synchronisation of its Unit 1 generator has been delayed as it has yet to be fully synchronised to the grid.

Eskom had previously said the generating unit would be synchronised to the grid by the end of October.

“The new steam generators are already successfully performing their role,” Eskom told MyBroadband.
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“The delays currently being experienced are associated with the normal start-up of the Unit and not the steam generators.”
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Do you see the part that is quoted directly from the horses mouth?
 
TheChamp said:
It would have a direct quote in the article if it was the case, do you see there are some parts in the article that have a direct quote to show that is quoted exactly as said by Eskom. That is journalism 101.





Do you see the part that is quoted directly from the horses mouth?
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I do. How do they steam generators work without the normal start up?

Sounds like BS to me.
 
TheChamp said:
www.news24.com

Nuclear regulator gives Eskom green light to start up reactor at Koeberg unit 1 | Business

The National Nuclear Regulator confirmed it has granted Eskom permission to start up a reactor at Koeberg's Unit 1 and conduct necessary tests before it can come back into commercial operation.
www.news24.com www.news24.com
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Eskom has been granted permission from the National Nuclear Regulator to run the reactor at Koeberg's unit 1 and conduct necessary tests before the unit becomes commercially operable.
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For the layman, such as myself, what does this mean?

It's going online, some tests being done on it, and then I assume after a week or two, it's running?
 
gogga_ said:
Please don't post paywalled articles. You should know better.
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Eskom has been granted permission from the National Nuclear Regulator to run the reactor at Koeberg's unit 1 and conduct necessary tests before the unit becomes commercially operable.

Unit 1 has been on an extended outage since December 2022 to replace its steam generators as part of Eskom's application for a licence to operate the nuclear plant for another 20 years.

The outage was supposed to take six months, but the unit's return to service has been delayed by a further five months, News24 previously reported.

On Wednesday, however, energy analyst Chris Yelland posted on X that there has been some progress at unit 1 given that the nuclear regulator gave Eskom the green light to "take the reactor critical." He was citing chief nuclear officer Keith Featherstone.

Responding to questions from News24, the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) confirmed the development. "Eskom has NNR permission to start up the reactor, perform the necessary commissioning tests following a maintenance outage and synchronise to the grid and generate electricity," the NNR said.

Eskom did not go into detail in its responses to News24 but confirmed the unit was in the process of being started up, but there were still some issues that needed to be resolved.

"We have permission from the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) but are resolving some emergent issues on the secondary side of the plant," Eskom said.

Previously, Eskom indicated that the unit would be back online by mid-November. It provided no updates in this regard but emphasised that the unit is in the process of being started up.

Asked about the delays the unit has experienced, Eskom explained that during the startup phase of an outage, all the activities follow a series – with one activity being a precursor to the next.

"… Any deviation from expected response or emergent defect becomes a delay to the plan as it has to be fixed before the plan can continue," Eskom said. These measures are important to ensure the unit is returned to operation in a "safe and reliable manner".

Once unit 1 returns to service, unit 2 will then be taken offline for its scheduled outage. Each unit generates 920MW - or one stage of load shedding.

READ | Koeberg: New delay as reactor is prepared for startup

The nuclear plant is currently operated under one licence – for both units 1 and 2. But Eskom has applied to the NNR to have separate licences for units 1 and 2, given that unit 2 came into operation more than a year after the first, News24 previously reported.

So if granted, Unit 1 would run for an additional 20 years to 21 July 2044 and Unit 2 would run until 9 November 2045.

"The NNR is reviewing the request to vary the licence with respect to separating the operating design life of both units and will announce its decision upon completion of the process," the regulator told News24.

Public hearings

The regulator also plans to hold further public hearings on the Koeberg life extension in February 2024, it said in a notice.

A previous public comment process closed on 16 March 2023. "The NNR project team reviewed the comments received and made a recommendation to the NNR Board to conduct further public consultation on the application," the regulator said.

"The NNR Board will hold public hearings to provide members of the public an opportunity to make oral presentations to the NNR on health, safety and environment issues connected with LTO (Long-Term Operation) application," it added.

The hearings will be held in Tableview on 3 February, Atlantis on 10 February, and Athlone on 17 February. Written submissions can be sent to NNR by 15 January 2024.

The NNR said that any person "who may be directly affected" by the application to extend the operational life of Koeberg may make representations.

The DA, planned to meet Koeberg Nuclear Power Station engineers on Thursday to get an update on the power plant's life extension project. However this engagement has since been cancelled.

*This article was updated to include information about the public hearings that will be held in February 2024 and that the DA visit to Koeberg has been cancelled.
 
TheChamp said:
That's my understanding as well, controlled switching on, testing, then unleashing the wrath of the beast.
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and keep fingies crossed there isn't a "bolt" in there where it shouldn't be.
 
I think at some point during the timelines it was supposed to be unit 1 getting taken down, refurbished, getting online, running alongside unit 2 for a bit, then unit 2 gets taken offline, but it sounds like now, we have unit 1 coming back online and right after unit 2 going offline?
 
Grieta Thanburg said:
I think at some point during the timelines it was supposed to be unit 1 getting taken down, refurbished, getting online, running alongside unit 2 for a bit, then unit 2 gets taken offline, but it sounds like now, we have unit 1 coming back online and right after unit 2 going offline?
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That was supposed to be the plan, unit 1 was supposed to be back online 5 months ago, but there turned out to be some design issues with the steam turbines... You know the ones that have been sitting since December 2021.
 
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