Koeberg struggles to get going 16/05/2006 07:35 AM By: Michelé O'Connor Print story on Email Story
Cape Town - Eskom missed its first deadline on Monday for the switching-on process for Koeberg's unit one because of technical problems with the unit's generator.
Die Burger learned in confidence on Monday that unit one could not be synchronised with the national power network on Monday, as planned.
Due to technical problems the unit has so far been switched off twice in recent weeks after it had been fully switched on. The repaired stator and "imported rotor" do not seem to be the problem.
If there are no further problems, the unit will probably be synchronised with the network on Tuesday.
Eskom spokesperson Tony Stott said unit 1 ought still to be in operation in spite of any problems, if unit two was switched off on 22 May for compulsory maintenance.
"The generator is being tested now and the whole unit must be switched off if the set safety limits are exceeded in the test phase."
Manager of the plan in the Western Cape Andrew Etzinger said that Cape residents' co-operation in Eskom's accelerated energy-saving plan was now bearing fruit.
He said the Cape would have had a projected shortage of more than 323MW since Monday. But the energy-saving plan was running so well that it reduced the shortfall to such a degree that controlled power outages had until now not been necessary any more.
"Apart from the more than one million energy-saving light bulbs already distributed in the city, Eskom is focusing on installing special insulating blankets for geysers and a plan to use a radio signal to switch off geysers in some suburbs at peak times.
"There are already 9 000 of these devices in operation in Table View. Eskom will soon install another 4 000 in the suburb. The metro council and Eskom are negotiating to repair the existing devices in places such as Kuils River, Kraaifontein and Brackenfell.
"The devices will not be extended to the rest of the city for now, because they can't be put into effect in time for the coming winter.
"Though Eskom can't force residents to let these devices be installed, in terms of municipal legislation, municipalities can force residents to have the devices installed.
"The installation and repair of these devices costs Eskom R2.7m in the Western Cape. But the saving is R1.5m per megawatt and costs Eskom only a tenth of a new power station," Etzinger said.
He added that 200 000 insulation blankets would be distributed in the city's low-income suburbs.
Readers' comments on "geyser control" and Eskom's other plans for the Western Cape, which reached Die Burger by e-mail or SMS can be read on www.dieburger.com.
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
Cape Town - Koeberg's repaired generator 1 is again faulty and, should it be a cold weekend, the Western Cape could be in for more power cuts.
Eskom spokesperson Tony Stott told Die Burger on Friday that unit 1 was experiencing problems with a faulty valve.
Since Monday, when unit 2 was outaged for compulsory maintenance, unit 1 became the main electricity supplier to the Western Cape, combined with the electricity fed in via the long distance high voltage lines from Mpumalanga.
"The valve, which is not functioning properly, has forced Eskom to cut the output of unit 1 to 80% in terms of the safety requirements laid down for the electricity generation industry," he said.
According to Stott the unit will be running at 80% until the fault has been eliminated.
He said: "Eskom is convinced that we will be able to overcome the problem without taking unit 1 out of commission."
This technical problem should not influence the availability of electricity in the Western Cape as it leaves a shortage of only 200MW, which can be imported from the Mpumalanga power stations, he said. Use electricity sparingly
Residents of the Western Cape have to save 400MW of electricity up to the end of July to prevent controlled power cuts.
Eskom on Friday again appealed to Capetonians to use electricity sparingly.
Good news for consumers in the metropolis is that Eskom is now moving on to phase 2 of the energy-saving domestic bulb programme.
According to Andrew Etzinger, Western Cape manager of this scheme, residents can now exchange their standard household bulbs for the energy-saving type at various places in the city.
In the initial phase the new type of bulbs were only exchanged at the homes of residents in the lower income residential areas.
According to the Eskom website www.eskom.co.za there are exchange points in the Gordons Bay and Stellenbosch areas in the Voortrekker Hall in Stellenbosch, Paul Roos Gymnasium, Hoërskool Hottentots-Holland in Somerset West, Hoërskool Gordons Bay, Rijgersbosch Primary School, Strand High School, Rhenish Girls' High and Cloetesville Primary School.
Residents of the Wynberg and Tokai residential areas can exchange their bulbs at, amongst others, the Maynard and Blue Route centres.
The service centres of the regional electricity supplier in Muizenberg, Vanguard, Gugulethu, Mitchells Plain, Wynberg, Somerset West, Mowbray, the city centre, Oostenberg and Bellville will also participate in the programme.
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
