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Nuclear power is back on the table for South Africa

16 Jul 2024

The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) has approved Eskom's application to operate Koeberg Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 for another two decades, until 21 July 2044. The unit, which contributes 930MW to the national grid, will join about 120 reactors worldwide that have safely extended their operations beyond their initial 40-year lifespan. Eskom has invested in safety improvements and extensive maintenance to ensure that Koeberg, Africa's only nuclear power plant, continues to operate safely and reliably.

Koeberg will join a growing list of nuclear power stations that are extending their lifespan beyond 40 years

"We are proud of this achievement that ensures that Koeberg can now continue to operate safely into the future," said Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom Group executive for generation.

Keith Featherstone, Eskom chief nuclear officer, added that Koeberg has implemented safety enhancements based on both French and US nuclear experiences, which have reduced the risk to levels that would normally only be achieved by new, modern nuclear power plants.

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The current licence for Koeberg Unit 2 expires on 9 November 2025, and Eskom will continue to work on the pre-requisites for Long Term Operation in the current outage.

The NNR will make a decision on the licence extension for Unit 2 at a later date, but before 9 November 2025.

Nuclear power part of baseload

Meanwhile, Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said that South Africa will pursue nuclear power as part of its baseload at "a scale and speed that we can afford".

He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Cabinet Lekgotla held in Tshwane at the weekend.

He said that the government is working on a transparent procurement framework for nuclear power, and that it is committed to addressing the challenges of electricity affordability and distribution grid maintenance.

“The poor and those that are located in the townships are finding it exceptionally difficult to afford the increases in electricity," lamented Ramokgopa.

The pricing and the tariff is prohibitive and a lot of our people across the length and breadth of the country are not in a position to afford electricity

“Those are challenges on the distribution side…and we know that over a period of time municipalities have underinvested in the maintenance, replenishment and protection of the distribution grid and of course we are paying the price now,” he said.