- In a significant milestone for the nation’s energy sector, South Africa’s Koeberg Nuclear Power Station’s Unit 2 is celebrating 40 years of operation, a period in which it has provided what Eskom officials describe as clean, reliable, and affordable baseload power.
- The anniversary comes just days after the National Nuclear Regulator approved a 20-year licence extension, allowing unit 2 to continue operating until 2045.
The celebration, however, is set against a backdrop of ongoing financial, legal, and safety controversies surrounding the steam generator 20 year life extension programme. Eskom, who requires repeated government bailouts to remain solvent, was recently ordered by the Western Cape High Court to pay French firm Framatome nearly R1 billion in a contractual dispute over the replacement of steam generators at Koeberg.
Eskom executives have hailed 40 years of operation as a triumph. “Koeberg’s 40-year milestone is a proud moment for South Africa and proof of our ability to operate complex infrastructure safely and sustainably,” said Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane. He emphasised that with both Unit 1 and Unit 2 now licensed for another two decades, the station will remain a cornerstone of the country’s energy security, supplying a combined 1,860MW of power.
Related news: Koeberg Unit 1 shut down three months after re-commissioning
The utility has pointed to Unit 2’s operational performance as evidence of its reliability, noting it achieved a 100% Energy Availability Factor for 244 consecutive days this year and has received numerous safety awards.
These assurances are sharply contested by watchdog groups. The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) has raised alarms about the licence extension, citing a lack of proven safety standards. The organisation alleges that Eskom has no up-to-date data on the actual status of Unit 2’s critical containment buildings, as the monitoring system broke down years ago and is not scheduled for restoration until 2028.
“It is deeply troubling that Eskom seeks to extend the life of Koeberg’s Unit 2 when, by its own admission, it has no reliable data on the status of the containment building – the very structure designed to prevent radioactive leaks in the event of an accident,” said SAFCEI’s Executive Director, Francesca de Gasparis. SAFCEI argues that relying on extrapolated data from the separate Unit 1 reactor is inadequate and fails to address the unique ageing issues of each unit.
As the nation marks four decades of nuclear power from Unit 2, the path forward for Koeberg remains a subject of intense debate, balancing claims of operational excellence against pressing concerns over financial management, regulatory compliance, and long-term safety.
The final cost of the R20 billion Koeberg life extension programme has not been made public by Eskom.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
