Cape Town – Power output at South Africa’s only nuclear power station, Koeberg, was temporarily reduced on Tuesday after a fault occurred at a Cape Town substation, Eskom said.
Eskom said in a statement that a fault on the 132kV transmission lines from the Pinotage substation near Stellenbosch caused both Koeberg units to be safely reduced from full power to 100MW each just before 5pm.
“Eskom confirms that this was an expected response under such circumstances, designed to protect the integrity of the power station and the national grid.
“Eskom further confirms that both nulear reators were not affected by this incident,” the statement read,
Koeberg Nuclear Power Station units operated at reduced power due to a line fault from the Pinotage transmission substation – Eskom assures safe and normal operation of Koeberg Power Station with no impact to grid stability. #KoebergNuclearPowerStation… pic.twitter.com/uXmZGeptvK
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) January 20, 2026
The incident was reported to the National Nuclear Regulator, and Eskom stressed there was no risk of load shedding due to sufficient national generation reserves.
“The National Nuclear Regulator has been duly informed of the incident. Importantly, there is no risk of load shedding due to adequate national generation reserves and the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) has given approval for Koeberg Nuclear Power Station to begin increasing the power output of both units,” Eskom said.
Approval has since been granted for Koeberg to begin ramping up power output again.
Eskom also reassured the public that Koeberg continues to operate safely and securely, following all regulatory protocols.
The update comes after Unit 2 received a 20-year licence extension in November last year, following extensive refurbishment and safety upgrades under Eskom’s long-term operation programme.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
