Regulator approves timeline separation of Koeberg units
The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) has approved a request from Eskom to separate the operating timelines of Koeberg’s unit 1 and unit 2.
“After completing its safety assessment, the NNR confirmed that the approval of the separation of the units will not affect the safety of the Koeberg nuclear power station,” the regulator said on Friday.
Koeberg unit 1 was commissioned for commercial operation in July 1984 while unit 2 commenced commercial operation in November 1985.
The nuclear power station’s licence limits both units to an operating life expiring in July. Eskom has applied to the NNR for a licence to extend the operating life of Koeberg by 20 years, but this decision is still outstanding.
By separating the operating timelines of the two units Eskom will be able to run unit 2 until November 2025 even if its request for the life extension of the plant is denied or if the decision is delayed beyond July.
The regulator said the approval to separate the operating life timelines did not imply that the long-term operation (LTO) application has been approved.
The NNR is due to host public hearings on Eskom’s request for the 20-year life extension in February. The NNR executive is also due to present a draft safety evaluation to the NNR board.
The outcome of the hearings and the completion of the technical safety review report will inform the recommendations made to the board and the board is then expected to announce its decision in July.
In preparation for the 20year life extension unit 1 was out on an extended maintenance outage for most of 2023. Once it returned to service in December, unit 2 was taken offline for a similar outage and Eskom expects to return the unit to service by September.
Eskom previously said while it waits for the NNR’s decision on the LTO it will continue with the implementation of another 200day long-duration maintenance outage on unit 1 on July 24 — the day when the operating licence expires. Unit 2, which was scheduled to be taken offline for a similar outage towards the end of 2024, can now be delayed to end-2025 due to the timeline separation.
This will limit the risk of SA having to do without both units
— which have 920MW of generation capacity each (enough to mitigate almost one full stage of load-shedding) — for long periods over the next two years.