Johannesburg - In a rare glimpse into the closely-guarded nuclear build programme the Minister of Energy Tina Joemat-Pettersson said yesterday that Eskom would fund the mooted nuclear programme from its balance sheet.
Prior to Joemat-Pettersson’s announcement, Eskom had been vocal about the prospects of nuclear with group executive for generation Matshela Koko previously saying that nuclear was an “extremely attractive and affordable” base load option, even compared with the best estimates for renewable energy and gas.
Joemat-Pettersson yesterday told Parliament that her department would propose to the cabinet that Eskom be the procurer of the nuclear power.
She said the money for South Africa’s nuclear build would come from Eskom’s balance sheet and not the fiscus.
“I wish to categorically state that there’s no basket of money in the Treasury that will be used for this programme. The balance sheet of Eskom will be used to leverage funding for nuclear build,” Joemat-Pettersson said.
The department has postponed the release of the request for proposals for the programme, which are expected to give an indication on the costs involved. It was supposed to release the documents at the end of September.
If the cabinet goes along with Joemat-Pettersson’s proposal, it would not be the first time for Eskom to sit at the helm of a nuclear programme.
Possible sites
In 2007, Eskom’s board approved the construction of a conventional nuclear power station and related infrastructure at one of five possible sites along the country’s coastline. That nuclear programme, known as Nuclear 1, was supposed to start with up to 4 000 megawatts (MW) of pressurised water reactor capacity to be built from 2010.
Rival nuclear vendors, Areva of France and Westinghouse of the US, submitted bids and were shortlisted for the programme. But in December 2008, Eskom pulled the plug on the programme due to lack of finance.
Eskom has previously expressed its readiness to play a leading role in the nuclear programme. Koko said last month that the power utility was ready to deliver the nuclear build programme. “Eskom is ready to deliver the nuclear programme for the country because it has a stable leadership, has turned around its performance, stabilised its finances and is delivering on its new build programme.
“Eskom firmly believes that it has a wealth of lessons it has learnt from its current new build programme that it can put to use in the nuclear programme and reduce the risk of schedule delays and cost overruns,” Koko said.
Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said yesterday that if the cabinet agreed with the Department of Energy, Eskom was ready for the programme. “It will be a sign of confidence in Eskom,” Phasiwe said.
Alternatives
In a statement yesterday, Eskom said: “Although there are a number of alternatives available, nuclear remains the best long-term option for the further development of South Africa’s energy mix that will ensure security of electricity supply while adhering to our various national and international objectives.
“Nuclear does require high initial capital expenditure for construction but, operationally, nuclear offers one of the cheapest sources of electricity that comes with zero greenhouse gas emissions.”
* With additional reporting by ANA
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