The Portfolio Committee on Energy went on an oversight visit on Wednesday, 29 June to the Koeberg Power Station and Darling Wind Farm. The main purpose of the visit was to get an overview of Koeberg’s nuclear safety measures following the Fukushima accident in Japan.
During the oversight, the Committee was briefed by Eskom, South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) and the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) on safety measures at Koeberg Power Station. The Necsa and NNR gave a presentation on their roles in nuclear safety practices.
“The Committee was given a helpful explanation of the Fukushima disaster,” said the Chairperson of the Committee, Mr Sisa Njikelana. “We were able to pick up how the disaster occurred, the causes, rescue plans and the actions that were taken. Eskom and other entities are currently working hard on improving safety at Koeberg in view of the Fukushima experience. Judging from the presentation by Eskom, Koeberg power station cannot be complacent, hence the exploration of how to improve safety measures, even though the mechanisms in place are better than those at Fukushima,” Mr Njikelana said.
At Darling, the Committee learnt that the Energy project had four turbines supplying electricity to Cape Town and the national grid. It noted the challenges facing the Darling project, and admired its long-term plans.
The last lap of the oversight visit was a meeting with the community leaders of Darling, at which the leaders raised a number of concerns and requests. According to the community, they felt left out of local development initiatives including the Darling wind energy project. The leaders proposed that government should work more closely with them to create job opportunities. The Committee promised to respond in due course to the issues raised by the Darling community.
For enquiries please contact:
Ms Yoliswa Landu
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Tel: +27 21 403 8203
E-mail: ylandu@parliament.gov.za
Source: Parliament of South Africa
