Velaphi Ntuli, the Koeberg nuclear power station manager embroiled in a 2021 performance saga, is back. Cleared of allegations, he's deemed "crucially needed" by Eskom.

Ntuli was suspended after Koeberg’s Unit 1 did not return to service in May, 2021 following a steam generator replacement under Ntuli’s management. The failure to get Unit 1 up and running by this time, pushed the country into the nightmare of stage 4 load-shedding for the first time in nine months.

Then-CEO, Andre de Ruyter, suspended Ntuli pending an investigation into his management. The investigation found no evidence of a lack of performance.

Eskom claims that “Ntuli’s expertise and experience is crucially needed to assist the power station in completing the steam generator replacement project, Koeberg's long-term operation programme, and to continue to safely operate the plant once its licence is granted by the National Nuclear Regulator.”

Eskom recently successfully replaced the steam generator at Koeberg Unit 1 after many more delays. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, electricity minister, said that the lessons learned during the first step in this project will be carried forward as Koeberg’s unit 2 goes offline for its steam generator replacement, set to be completed by September, 2024.

These efforts are a part of Eskom’s drive to obtain a new licence for Koeberg to continue operating for another 20 years. Koeberg’s units generate more than 1800MW of power when running at full capacity.