The South African government recently announced plans to utilize nuclear energy to address its electricity challenges.
However, Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, emphasized that this initiative would proceed at a pace the country can afford. South Africa recently celebrated an uninterrupted 100-day power supply.
Speaking to the media at the Cabinet Lekgotla in Tshwane, Dr. Ramokgopa disclosed that the country plans to develop its nuclear capacity for electricity generation, scaling the project according to financial capabilities.
“In the long term, we need to ensure that we anchor the baseload, and nuclear is an important part of that intervention.
We are working on the framework for procurement to ensure a transparent process. We will proceed at a scale and speed that we can afford,” he stated.
Dr. Ramokgopa also highlighted the affordability challenges faced by poorer communities, particularly in townships, where electricity price increases are prohibitive.
“Distribution challenges stem from years of underinvestment in the maintenance, replenishment, and protection of the distribution grid by municipalities. We are now paying the price for this neglect,” he added.
In March 2023, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as Minister of Electricity and Energy to address the nation’s persistent energy issues.
Earlier in July, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. announced that South Africa had achieved 100 days without load-shedding.
This success is attributed to the recovery plan initiated in March 2023 and aggressive maintenance of the company’s power plants.
According to a Bloomberg report, Eskom’s failure to meet energy demand last year was due to record outages caused by mismanagement, corruption, and an aging fleet of production plants.
