Now that Koeberg Nuclear Power Station’s Unit 1 has returned to service Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says he hopes the maintenance of Unit 2 won’t be marred by similar delays.

The unit is expected to be switched off in December.

Unit 1 was finally synchronised to the grid on Saturday after very nearly a full year.

It was meant to come back online after six months.

A probe is underway to look at what led to these delays.

The planned maintenance forms part of the plan to extend Koeberg’s lifespan for another twenty years.

Ramokgopa says the delays come at a great cost to the country.

“ We will be delaying the licensing of the power station by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR). Of course, in the next cycle will tell you when Unit 2 will go offline. The expectation is that it must return back to service on time. But if you have to draw from the experience of Unit 1 it doesn’t give us that degree of confidence”.