Mpumalanga Kusile power station unit chimney severely damaged
A section of unit 1 at the Kusile power station in Mpumalanga was damaged when the flue gas duct exiting the sulphur dioxide had shut down for flue gas de-sulphuration.
This as the flue gas duct is located inside the flue chimney made from steel sections welded together.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha says investigations and assessments are underway to establish the cause of the failure.
"Investigations and assessments are in progress to establish the cause of failure and to ascertain the extent of the damage, as well as the recovery scope of work. While it is uncertain at this point, it is anticipated the unit may remain offline for a few months and this duration shall become clearer over the next few weeks. Access to the area has also been restricted as part of precautionary measures.
"Unit 2 was offloaded at the time while Unit 3 was generating electricity. Unit 4, whose Flue Gas Duct is housed on a separate flue chimney, is currently on load generating full load to the national grid. As part of precautionary measures put in place, the return to service of Unit 2 has been put on hold while Unit 3 continues to run at stable load."
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