Koeberg manager suspended by De Ruyter is back and is 'crucially needed', says Eskom

Velaphi Ntuli has returned as the general manager of Koeberg nuclear power station after he was suspended in June 2021 over performance issues - allegations of which he has since been cleared. At the time of his suspension, Koeberg's Unit 1 had not returned to service in May 2021 as scheduled. The delay in returning Unit 1 to service contributed to loadshedding escalating to Stage 4 in June - a first in nine months. Ntuli was subsequently suspended by former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter while investigations into the performance of Koeberg power station were conducted. He was also given an opportunity to provide evidence in the inquiry about the station's performance and that of his own. Ntuli, who is an electrical engineering graduate from the University of Pretoria, had started working at Koeberg in 2001 and became head of nuclear engineering in 2016. But following his suspension he was deployed to the position of general manager for coal and clean technology at Eskom.