Eskom's Medupi power plant has hit another obstacle, as software being developed by the South African division of the French group Alstom - for its boiler protection system - has failed a series of tests.
According to a Business Day report this morning, critical software for the operating system, being developed by Alstom, has failed three tests and clarity on whether the problem can be resolved is not forthcoming. Alstom has been contracted to provide steam turbines for the Limpopo-based plant, the biggest greenfield coal-fired power plant project in the Southern Hemisphere.
The new coal-fired power station near Lephalale, together with another coal-fired plant -Kusile, in Mpumalanga - is expected to be a panacea for SA's tight electricity supplies and has a deadline to be operational by the end of this year.
Business Day cites Eskom's outgoing CFO Paul O'Flaherty, who last week said Alstom's boiler protection system, including critical software that provides information on what is happening inside the boiler, was six to nine months behind schedule.
Alstom's South African operations are primarily steeped in the electricity sector. The firm has been supplying technology for Eskom's Kusile and Medupi power stations since construction began in 2007.
"The system, which according to Eskom's schedule should now be on site, has failed repeatedly in the past 18 months, the last time at a crucial test on 24 December."
Delays and deadlines
This comes shortly after other serious delays have caused hold-ups in construction at the plant - including a crippling workers' strike that lasted almost eight weeks, and contracted boiler supplier Hitachi Power Africa's welding errors, which left four boilers having to be rebuilt. Hitachi Power Africa is Eskom's biggest contractor.
The human resources problem at Medupi was finally resolved last week, when workers returned to work after the National Union of Metalworkers and contractors reached a resolution on the project labour agreement.
The technical issues, however, are still of great concern to Eskom. This is according to public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba.
In a statement on Friday, Gigaba said he has been actively involved in trying to resolve technical issues since last year. This, he said, was to meet the Medupi project's deadlines - particularly that of delivering first power by December this year.
"For now, having received the detailed technical plans from the primary contractors in regard to what they must do to meet the December deadline, which I am adamant will not be changed without strict penalties being imposed on the contractors should they fail to meet their obligations, I am unprepared to accept any review of the delivery schedules."
Gigaba says Eskom "must simply do more and better" to manage both its contractors and the project itself.
According to Business Day, Eskom withdrew Alstom's performance bond of 10% of the contract price following the recent software glitches.
In response to questions regarding the software shortcomings, Kobie Hyman, Alstom's communications manager, said this morning that the company would be "responding in the next few days".
Eskom did not respond by the time of publication.
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