Nine injured in transformer explosion at Eskom’s Matla Power Station
On Thursday at around 5 PM, a transformer explosion occurred at Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, affecting Unit 6.
Image for illustration purposes.
South Africa, Mpumalanga: On Thursday at around 5 PM, a transformer explosion occurred at Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, affecting Unit 6. Eskom said that as a precautionary measure, Unit 5 was taken offline to ensure the safety of employees and contractors on-site. According to initial reports, 9 employees were injured with one in critical condition.
“Our first thoughts are with those who have been injured and we are ensuring they get the medical attention they need. All emergency protocols have been activated,” said Eskom Group Executive for Generation, Bheki Nxumalo.
Eskom’s technical teams were on-site assessing the situation and will continue to do so. The company said that the suspension of loadshedding remains unchanged; it will issue regular update reports.
According to The Citizen, this was the second incident at a power station in the province in weeks. On 3 November, unit 6 at Kriel Power Station tripped following the loss of hydraulic oil to the turbine valves at around 5 PM. Eskom’s preliminary investigation revealed that an oil pipe had broken, causing an oil spill on the hot surfaces of the turbine, which triggered a fire.
Sources: Eskom/The Citizen
#ESKOM#Matla Power Station#South Africa#transformer#transformer explosion
