Eskom investigating reasons behind recurring boiler tube leaks

Eskom said that an investigation was under way to determine why the utility was overburdened by boiler tube leaks, which contributed to power outages.

JOHANNESBURG - Eskom said that an investigation was under way to determine why the utility was overburdened by boiler tube leaks which contributed to power outages.

It called off stage 2 power cuts at 5am on Thursday morning after the public had to contend with rolling blackouts for a week.

Eskom said that it had to replenish emergency generation reserves.

The utility said that over the last year it had doubled maintenance and was dealing with a shortage of over 5,000 megawatts as a result.

This maintenance plan was also increasing the risk of power cuts.

Eskom's Sikonathi Mantshantsha: "We suffered a lot of boiler tube leaks which the team identified as a recurring theme particularly after winter. The investigation going on now is to establish why are we always getting caught by boiler tube leaks, particularly after winter. But the maintenance has paid dividends. The work that we are doing now is to prepare for the next winter."

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