R594 million needed to fix Medupi flaws - Eskom

etienne_marais

etienne_marais

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Eish, if ever completed what happens after ? Given:

Delays and defects​

The dates for full commercial operation were shifted numerous times mostly due to labour disputes such as:

  • In September 2012, workers were sent home after vehicles and equipment were damaged.
  • In July 2013, a group of about 1000 workers turned violent damaging vehicles.[29]
  • In July 2014, the National Union of Metal Workers halted work for weeks.[30]
  • In March 2015, an eight week illegal strike escalated into violence, damage and intimidation.[31] Delays were also due to technical issues such as steam piping pressure, weld rechecks on the boilers, ash system blockage[32][33] and damages to mill crushers.[34]

Unit 4 generator explosion​

On 9 August 2021, in the second week after Eskom announced that Medupi had attained commercial operation, Medupi Unit 4 was extensively damaged in a hydrogen explosion[35][36] which caused a loss of 700 MW in generating capacity.[37] The cost of repair was estimated at up to R2 billion,[37] or up to R40 billion[38] over two years.
 
G

Gazg

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Anyone care to guess where this is coming from.......
 
etienne_marais

etienne_marais

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Gazg said:
Anyone care to guess where this is coming from.......
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George Soros and lackeys ? The mines ? Russia ? China ? U.S. ?

Junk status does not allow infinite loans ?

Private sector strained ?
 
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O

Oldfut

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ArmatageShanks said:
"Design Defects"

Who designed it? Who approved it? Who signed it off?

Lets first address that and how it happened then we move forward.
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I suspect all were implicated, mainly due to inexperience / incompetence but some corruption as well. A new, unique, big power station is a huge multi disciplinary technological and contractual challenge, particularly in SA with its 3rd world limitations and BEE/ANC tenderpreneuring madness.
 
ArmatageShanks

ArmatageShanks

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Oldfut said:
I suspect all were implicated, mainly due to inexperience / incompetence but some corruption as well. A new, unique, big power station is a huge multi disciplinary technological and contractual challenge, particularly in SA with its 3rd world limitations and BEE/ANC tenderpreneuring madness.
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I'd like to understand why outsourced a new proprietary or unique plant, why couldn't we procure an existing design from a reputable supplier and customise only what we have to?

As far as I know our plant designes are in no way record setting or modern?
 
Kosmik

Kosmik

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ArmatageShanks said:
I'd like to understand why outsourced a new proprietary or unique plant, why couldn't we procure an existing design from a reputable supplier and customise only what we have to?

As far as I know our plant designes are in no way record setting or modern?
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We used to have very good designs actually, and I think we pioneered the pebble bed reactor?
 
RudderVator

RudderVator

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Kosmik said:
We used to have very good designs actually, and I think we pioneered the pebble bed reactor?
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I believe that due to differences in coal, burn rate and amount of ash there might be slight design differences in each area of the world.

Eskom surely knows exactly what kind of coal we have and the specs needed.

Insane to think they couldn’t get 3 different opinions or suppliers and then include their own knowledge base.
 
Kosmik

Kosmik

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RudderVator said:
I believe that due to differences in coal, burn rate and amount of ash there might be slight design differences in each area of the world.

Eskom surely knows exactly what kind of coal we have and the specs needed.

Insane to think they couldn’t get 3 different opinions or suppliers and then include their own knowledge base.
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Our issues are corruption and nepotism. Everything stems from those.
 
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mypetcow

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Only?! That’s not too bad. It’s like R10 per person in SA in taxes. If that’s all it costs where can I donate? ;)
You all need to do your part too. Can’t leave me hanging here
 
ArmatageShanks

ArmatageShanks

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LazyLion said:
Would love to know how much these things cost in a "normal" country....
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Just for quick comparison

Medupi 3.7GW @ R234 Billion

Zhejiang (China new plant) 2GW @ R18 Billion

Also

China will start cutting coal consumption from 2026, and is likely to put an additional 150 GW of coal-fired power into operation before then, researchers with the State Grid Corp of China have said.

Dit wil ge doen word.
 
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neoprema

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Humans have been building power stations for a VERY long time. We've become very good at it.

Nevermind the fact that Eskom was so good at it, other countries used to poach their staff to help build theirs.

So if you're coming with an excuse of "design flaw" you can well and truly get lost, because that's standing out as a lie a mile away.
 
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