- Koeberg nuclear power station was recently unexpectedly offline for over a week owing to multiple trips at the facility which eventually, combined with a high level of unplanned outages at other plants and finally issues at Kusile, resulted in stage 3 load shedding. Koeberg has come under renewed scrutiny for its inconsistent power generation.
Eskom’s media statement released on Monday, 10 March 2025, was titled: “Koeberg Unit 2 successfully restored to service following unplanned outage, delivering 930MW of reliable baseload power to South Africa” but energy experts and civil society organisations refute the “reliable baseload” statement.
Outages and delays
“These puff pieces by Eskom comms do nothing to restore public confidence in the utility’s performance, in fact they do the opposite,” says energy expert, Anton Erberhard. “There is no introspection. No statement as to whether there will be an inquiry into why there was this failure months after this Koeberg nuclear unit was offline for a year long major refurbishment which was supposed to extend its life for 20 more years. Eskom comms need a shake up. This defensive hubris will not end well,” he says.
Koeberg has had frequent unplanned outages, extended maintenance delays and aging infrastructure which have increasingly disrupted its reliability. With one of its two units offline for an extended period due to life-extension work, Koeberg has not provided the stable, continuous baseload power that nuclear energy is lauded to deliver.
“We are told that nuclear power should offer consistent “baseload” generation but Koeberg’s performance tells a different story,” says Koeberg Alert Alliance spokesperson, Lydia Petersen. “Between prolonged refurbishment delays and unexpected technical faults and non-technical trips, it behaves more like an intermittent power source than a reliable one.”
The intermittency of Koeberg has compounded South Africa’s energy crisis, with the plant failing to operate at full capacity during critical demand periods. This further undermines efforts to reduce the severity of load shedding, which continues to affect businesses and households across the country.
“From a planning perspective, intermittency is a key challenge,” says energy analyst, Clyde Mallinson. “Aging, large generating plants like Koeberg – once considered reliable (though arguably that is questionable) – are becoming inherently more unpredictable, as this past week has demonstrated.”
Ramokgopa calls for accountability
On 8 March 2025, Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, apologised for the recent power cuts and said that there should be consequences for load shedding.
“Eskom has been incredibly vague about what caused the trips at Koeberg recently,” says Ex-National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) board member, Peter Becker. “This contrasts with the minister saying that there will be transparency about nuclear power matters under his watch.”
“An ‘unplanned, non technical trip during execution of work’ provides no information at all and we were also told during the briefing by Eskom that ‘two other issues’ arose when they tried to get the unit back up again. Again, no details at all about what those issues are and this is in the context of the International Atomic Energy Agency making recommendations about the safety of Koeberg, some of which both Eskom and the NNR have chosen to ignore, makes it difficult for the public to have confidence the plant is safe,” says Becker.
Koeberg’s controversial life extension
As Eskom pushes forward with its life-extension project for Koeberg, concerns remain over whether the aging plant can regain its reliability or if its operational disruptions will persist. Meanwhile, energy analysts emphasise the need for diversified energy sources, including renewables and flexible generation capacity, to ensure a more resilient and stable electricity supply.
“Concerns about the extension of operations for Koeberg are mounting with each new piece of news about its lack of performance,” says Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) Executive Director, Francesca de Gasparis.
“Our studies into Koeberg’s life extension plans showed that critical defense-in-depth issues such as the containment monitoring system remain out of operation, and are to be repaired sometime in the future for unit 1. While unit 2, which had an unexpected outage over the weekend, seems to have far more serious issues. It’s time for Eskom to communicate more openly and clearly with the public, so we can understand the safety issues at Koeberg and be informed as to the plan to ensure safety is given top priority,” says de Gasparis.
Eskom urged to be transparent about Koeberg costs and challenges
“I would hope that the Minister will deliver on his promise and instruct Eskom to end the secrecy around Koeberg,” concludes Becker. “Eskom needs to answer questions about expenditure and what the actual problems are, and so to allow an informed analysis on whether it is worth continuing to pour billions of rand into the Koeberg plant.
“This cost analysis should also include the cost of waste disposal and decommissioning costs, which are largely ignored at the moment,” Becker adds.
As South Africa grapples with an ongoing energy crisis, the performance, cost and safety of Koeberg remain a critical concern. With persistent issues and outages, and a lack of transparency from Eskom, experts and civil society continue to question whether extending the plant’s lifespan is justified and are calling for clarity on the true costs, risks and feasibility of Koeberg’s future, as the country seeks a stable and sustainable power supply.
Author: Koeberg Alert Alliance
Disclaimer: The articles and videos expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Green Building Africa, our staff or our advertisers. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part Green Building Africa concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities.
