Cape Town – KPMG on Thursday revealed the results of a study that they have completed where they looked into the socio-economic impact of the Koeberg nuclear power station in the Western Cape and South Africa at large from 2012 to 2025.
Koeberg is Africa's only nuclear power station and has an installed capacity of 1 860MW, which provides 50 percent of the Western Cape's and approximately 5.6 percent of South Africa's energy needs while adding diversification to the energy mix.
KPMG's director and economist, Lullu Krugel said electricity was a key input for the majority products and processes in the economy, making Koeberg a direct contributor to economic growth, both in the Western Cape and South Africa at large.
"For example, over the period 2012/13 to 2015/16, Koeberg supported and stimulated economic activity in South Africa of an estimated R53.3 billion," Krugel said.
"The methodology KPMG employed to conduct this review, is based on internationally accepted standards, detailed information supplied by Eskom and official statistics." Eskom interim group chief executive, Matshela Koko, said Eskom had needed a substantiated independent view on the added benefit of Koeberg's investment spending and daily operations.
"We therefore briefed KPMG to conduct a study on the impact of Africa’s only nuclear power station on the socio-economic status of the province and South Africa," Koko said. Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown congratulated Koeberg and said Eskom had done the country a favour by placing credible information on the table as the nation embarks on what a critical journey from a predominantly coal-powered economy to an energy mix that would include coal, renewable, gas and nuclear power.
"For a developmental state such as South Africa, with a decades-long dependency on the coal industry to feed hundreds of thousands of citizens, the transition to an energy mix is understandably a complex undertaking. Besides keeping the lights burning, it is important that we understand the impact power stations have on our economy and our lives. Not only nuclear power stations; all power stations," Brown said.
"They generate jobs, and they generate work for the construction industry, for maintenance teams, and for the producers or a multitude of goods and services. They stimulate – and sometimes carry almost single-handedly – entire local economies and communities."