Transformer explodes at Eskom’s Camden power station
South Africa, Mpumalanga: Eskom said a transformer exploded at the Camden power station on the morning of 29 December.
Image source: The South African
South Africa, Mpumalanga: Eskom said a transformer exploded at the Camden power station on the morning of 29 December.
An investigation has been launched.
The explosion occurred at Unit 8 of the station. This station produces 190 MW in electricity. Eskom, however, said in a statement that it does not anticipate any disruption to the power supply.
“The fire was contained, no injuries were reported. An investigation into the incident has been launched to determine the cause and the extent of the damage and the possible return to service is underway,” it said in the statement.
This comes after energy analyst Chris Yelland tweeted, he had received a report from a “reliable source” of a transformer explosion at the Camden power station in Mpumalanga.
He later tweeted to say it has been confirmed that there was a fault on Camden Unit 8 generator transformer.
“The fire has been contained. A specialist will assess the damage and cause. Units 7 and 8 are shut down. Unit 7 is shut down to protect its transformer from flashover due to water sprayed on the Unit 8 transformer,” he tweeted.
Fires that broke out at Kendal in February 2021 and again in September 2021 disrupted operations and resulted in units going offline, cutting down available capacity at the time.
In August 2021, a massive explosion destroyed a generator at Medupi Unit 4, cutting around 700 MW of supply from the grid.
Repairs on that unit will take around two years and cost $125 M (R2 B), Eskom CEO André de Ruyter previously said.
Source: The South African