5 Nov (NucNet): The chief executive officer of publically owned South African utility Eskom told members of parliament that South Africa urgently needs more nuclear power and “we do not think that it is possible to continue with an energy mix that excludes nuclear.” According to media reports, Brian Molefe told Parliament’s public enterprises committee: “It is feasible to fund and operate further nuclear plants in South Africa and, in fact, it is urgent we do so.” He said the average age of Eskom’s power stations is 34 years, which means unplanned breakdowns, a lot of maintenance, and the risk of nationwide load reduction. Mr Molefe said nuclear energy will be the company’s focus after it completes a plan to refurbish its existing power plants and build what will be Africa’s two biggest coal-fired facilities. South African media has quoted energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson as saying the government has not yet decided how much new nuclear capacity to build even though a figure of 9,600 megawatts has been widely reported. South Africa has two commercially operational nuclear units at the Koeberg nuclear station, about 30km north of Cape Town. Koeberg is operated by Eskom.
