Lack of procedure in Medupi explosion racks up R2.5bn bill

The Medupi explosion in August last year was due to non-compliance with procedures. The cost of the damage is said to be R2.5 billion.

This was revealed during Eskom’s first State of the System media briefing, held on Thursday, where CEO André de Ruyter and the utility’s management team discussed the operational performance of the company.

The replacement cost of R2.5 billion is an “unfortunate blow”, de Ruyter said, particularly as it will mean that 720MW is not available while repairs take place.

This will put further constraints on the system, contributing to the likelihood of load shedding.

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He had previously stated that repairs would cost between R1.5 billion and R2 billion.

According to de Ruyter, the power station is insured, and Eskom is discussing with insurance on damages.

The explosion occurred on 8 August 2021 while hydrogen was being displaced with carbon dioxide and air – a procedure known as ‘purging’.

This was said to be done to find an external leak.

The explosion took place while the unit was on a short-term outage. It was then discovered that while employees were finding the leak, there was still hydrogen in the generator, which resulted in an explosive mixture.

Eskom has placed August 2024 as a target date for Medupi’s Unit 4 generator to return to service.

Action is expected to be taken against those who failed to follow proper procedures at the station.

However, no details were provided as to how the individuals will be called to account.

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