The return of Koeberg’s Unit 1 to commercial service has been delayed by a further 10 days as some critical tests are still to be completed before the reactor is started. The last date that Eskom provided for the return of Unit 1 from the extension of life project was 3 November. It is now expected to be returned around 13 November. Unit 2 will then be taken offline to replace its steam generators. The extension project will give Koeberg a 20-year extension of its licence, which expires in July 2024. The entire project is massively behind the original schedule, which was planned for 2022 and was expected to take 12 months. It was first put out to tender in 2010. In a detailed reply to questions, Eskom’s head of nuclear, Keith Featherstone, said that the steam generator replacement was complete, but some tests remained before the turbine could be set spinning to prepare for synchronisation to the gird. The unit would be commercially available once all tests were complete. Said Featherstone: "During the startup, as all the activities are in series and a precursor to the next activity, any emerging defect becomes a delay to the plan as it has to be fixed before the plan can continue.