“We practised that ‘what if’ to make sure we will always be well prepared.”
These are the words of JP Smith, Mayco Member for Safety and Security, following a series of simulation exercises done by the City of Cape Town at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station on Thursday, 30 November.
In a video showing the simulation exercises on Thursday, Smith said these exercises help the City prepare for disasters.
“(These simulations) make sure our municipality is always ready to respond to dealing with any kind of emergency,” he said. “Our Disaster Management Department regularly coordinate(s) such scenarios with different role-players, and the national nuclear regulator observes these.”
According to Smith, nuclear power has been an important source of electricity for most nations, and Koeberg has supplied power to the national grid for 39 years, contributing 1 800 MW.
“Originally this facility has been built to withstand tsunamis, earthquakes and much more. But, like everything else, something somewhere along the line can always go wrong. And even if it does we need to be ready. We coordinate such emergency responses through our disaster-risk joint operation centre at a disaster operation centre, and make sure that if a disaster does strike we have practised exactly what to do and how best to handle the situation.
“Such scenario training helps us review how to respond, what we did right, but also what we did wrong and where we can improve. Being a caring and capable City reminds us always to do the best we can. These scenario training operations help us continuously work towards that goal.”
He said the nuclear power plant is an important part of the national electricity grid. “Operating for 39 years incident-free, already where similar plants have been known to go on even up to 80 years. And even though it has numerous safety measures incorporated into its design, just what if something did go wrong? For example, a radiological breach released into the atmosphere that’s carried by wind and contaminates nearby suburbs.”
Koeberg Power Station’s Unit 1 was recently successfully synchronised to the grid after almost a year, with the longest outage in the history of the station.
The last date Eskom provided for the return of Unit 1 from the extension of life project was 3 November, a delay of 15 days. The extension project will give Koeberg a 20-year life extension provided its licence, which expires in July 2024, is approved.
Protests
Anti-nuclear demonstrations were held to highlight concerns of Capetonians about the implications of Eskom extending Koeberg’s lifespan next year. The nuclear plant reaches the end of its 40-year lifespan in 2024, but Eskom is trying to extend its operating life by another 20 years before any public consultation.
Last year a group of protesters representing civil-society organisations gathered outside the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) offices in Table View to protest the suspension and pending discharge of their representative on the NNR Board.
However, Eskom said the Koeberg units, at 920 MW each, are the largest generating units on the African continent. Their operation is a significant contributor to meeting the country’s electricity demand.
The Koeberg outages are planned at times of the year when the impact on the overall electricity supply is minimised as far as possible.
Says the power utility: “Koeberg Nuclear Power Station is an important part of the Eskom-generating fleet due to its reliable operation, low primary-energy costs, its strategic location in the Western Cape.”
“Unlike other types of power stations, where fuel can be added to continue generating power, the fuel at a nuclear-power station is sealed inside a reactor vessel, which is opened for refuelling every 15 to 18 months. This is also a time when the station will perform certain required inspections on equipment and perform more intrusive maintenance that cannot be performed when the unit is online.”
