Power utility Eskom has started an investigation into a fire at its Duvha power station in Mpumalanga, after a 600 MW unit at the power station was severely damaged during a routine turbine test.

Spokesperson Hilary Joffe told Engineering News Online that it would take “many months” to repair the damage to the unit, but that the other five units of the 3 600 MW Duvha plant were running normally.

The national grid was generating enough power to satisfy the demand.

Eskom reported that the incident took place when the unit had been taken off load to perform a required turbine test. The protection failed, causing severe mechanical damage and starting a fire, which was brought under control by the power station’s fire team within an hour.

No one was injured in the incident.

Divisional executive for generation Thava Govender said in a statement that Eskom would take appropriate action to prevent similar incidents in the future after the cause of the unit failure had been found.