SA to procure additional 2500 MW of nuclear power

The announcement comes as the country recorded a record number of load-shedding days in 2023, leaving households in the dark for hours and putting further strain on an already struggling economy.

The briefing comes just a day after the cabinet announced that it has approved the draft  Integrated Resource Plan 2023 which outlines the country's energy plan.

Ramokgopa said all new regulatory requirements have been met.

This means an additional 2500MW of nuclear will be procured.

He lauded the project as a significant milestone for a reliable energy source in the country.

"This is a significant milestone because we know that historically, in the recent past, the process has been marred in controversy. Now we are happy that we have been able to iron out issues related to how the procurement process needs to unfold.

“We have met the regulatory requirements as per the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s legal requirement, and now we have the concurrence of NERSA, we can proceed," he said.

The commissioning is expected to take more than 10 years to complete and finalise.

It’s expected the first plant will only be online around 2032 or 2033.

Ramokgopa said it has become necessary for South Africa to have an energy mix given the current power crisis.

"I think part of the reason why we are here with the energy crisis is because generation cannot meet demand. Therefore, we need to have additional generation capacity. We make the point all the time that the Eskom fleet is ageing. Therefore we need additional generation capacity," he added.

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