SEE | Fuel leak causes fire at Eskom's Matla power station | Business

14 Dec 2022

Screenshot of the fire at Matla power station.

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A unit at Eskom's Matla power station in Mpumalanga suffered a fire incident on Wednesday afternoon as a result of a fuel oil leak.

A real South African story. Another of ?@Eskom_SA?’s power stations damaged. Fire at Matla unit 6.Expect more loadshedding. pic.twitter.com/huHDSsFrTS
— RiotAndAttackSA (@RiotAndAttackS_) December 14, 2022

According to sources at the power utility, spilled fuel oil ignited and started a fire at the power station's unit 6 boiler, resulting in damage to electrical cables at the 3 600MW plant.

The fuel oil was isolated and a fire team extinguished the fire.

There appeared to be no structural damage, although the extent of the damage and the scope of work are still to be assessed.

The incident comes as severe load shedding continues amid continued plant breakdowns and as Eskom confirmed News24's reports that CEO André de Ruyter has resigned.

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