Nine employees were injured after a high-pressure steam steel pipe ruptured at Matla Power Station’s Unit 6 on Thursday evening.
What happened at Matla Power Station?
The incident caused a loud explosion, power loss to the area surrounding the unit, and heavy dust, which delayed initial assessments.
Eskom reported that technical teams began inspecting the site at first light on Friday to determine the extent of the damage and plan the necessary repairs.
There is no indication of sabotage, and investigations into the cause of the rupture are underway.
RelatedPosts
The injured employees were treated on-site before being transported to the hospital.
Eskom confirmed that one individual is in critical condition, two are in semi-critical condition, and six sustained minor injuries, with two of the latter already discharged.
Eight other members of the work team were uninjured and sent home.
As a precaution, Eskom took Unit 5 offline ahead of its planned maintenance, which was originally scheduled for Monday, 16 December.
The maintenance work will now begin on Saturday, to ensure the safety of employees.
Despite the incident, Eskom’s summer loadshedding suspension outlook remains unchanged.
The power utility has achieved 261 consecutive days without loadshedding, supported by structural improvements in its coal-fired fleet. Eskom CEO Dan Marokane stated that the base case scenario for summer operations indicates no loadshedding if unplanned outages remain at or below 13,000MW.
Year-to-date average unplanned outages currently stand at 11,875MW.
Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa visited the site on Friday to meet with Eskom executives, assess the damage, and offer support to the injured employees and their families.
Eskom made it clear that Matla Power Station remains a priority under the Generation Recovery Plan, citing its improved Energy Availability Factor of 67.12% over the past 18 months.
Group Executive for Generation Bheki Nxumalo assured the public that Eskom’s emergency response plans have been activated to address the incident and provide support to affected employees.
He added that the company would provide updates as the investigation progresses.
