South Africa, whose economy is severely damaged by a severe electricity crisis and frequent blackouts, intends to enhance its meagre nuclear power output, the government said on Tuesday.
Africa’s largest industrial power currently has the only nuclear power plant on the continent. However, the plant located near Cape Town, Koeberg, is only running at half capacity.
On Tuesday, the government declared that it had begun talks with “several potential suppliers” regarding the purchase of additional production facilities. These could be small modular reactors, which are less expensive but also less powerful than conventional reactors.
At a press conference, Ministry of Energy nuclear power chief Zizamele Mbambo expressed his hope that the first reactors would be put into service by 2032 or 2033. Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa emphasised that this is “an important milestone” that should result in an increase in capacity of 2,500 MW for the production of electricity.
Anger towards the nation’s historic ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has grown over the past 15 years, due to power outages lasting up to 12 hours a day. Elections are scheduled for next year.
With its ageing and badly maintained power plants, state-owned power utility Eskom is unable to produce enough electricity for the nation following years of mismanagement and corruption under President Jacob Zuma (2009–2018).
To add 20 years to the site’s lifespan, one unit at the nuclear power plant in Koeberg was shut down for nearly a year. Additionally, this week the second unit was shut down for maintenance.
