Page 5 - Issue 2 2023

INDUSTRY NEWS

Eskom faces nuclear fuel supply issues

skom tells Energize that an as that fuel is supplied by Framatome (France). The contracts with Westinghouse and
Inter-Governmental Agreement Framatome cover the fuel needed beyond these two outages.
Ebetween the South African and It is therefore not anticipated that Eskom will have to establish new fuel contracts
United States (USA) governments ended due to this current issue.
in December 2022. As a result of the Koeberg is an important player in Eskom’s fleet of power stations even though at
agreement ending, the approval that present only one Unit is operational as maintenance work is underway on the other
Westinghouse had to supply fuel for Unit.
Koeberg has been withdrawn by the US The loss of the Koeberg nuclear power station would be a serious blow to Eskom as
NRC. Eskom is exploring the implications it tries to end nationwide power outages that are crippling the economy. The loss of a
of the withdrawal of the US NRC supply of nuclear fuel would also be a major setback to the power utility’s and energy
approval for Westinghouse, and what department’s dreams of building new nuclear power stations in South Africa.
is needed to enable them to continue Eskom relies on Koeberg’s two 900 MW power-generating units for two reasons.
supplying fuel. Firstly, the plant is highly reliable and delivers a high energy availability factor, and
No nuclear fuel shortage for Koeberg secondly, because Koeberg produces the cheapest electricity per MWh of any of
is anticipated in the immediate future. Eskom’s fleet.
For many years, Eskom has maintained The power utility is promoting the idea of extending the operating life of the
two nuclear fuel suppliers qualified to Koeberg plant by another twenty years, even though it legally reaches end-of-life, and
supply fuel for Koeberg. The fuel that would therefore have to be shut down in 2024. Although Eskom claims the cost of life
will be loaded into Koeberg Unit 1 at extension work is about R20 billion, independent assessors have said the real figure
the end of the current outage, which is could be as much as ten times higher.
currently in progress, was supplied by Should Koeberg’s life-extension work go ahead – and assuming nuclear fuel will be
Westinghouse and is already on site. The available for a further 20 years – the real cost of electricity from Koeberg is likely to be
fuel for the next outage on Unit 2 which significantly higher than it is now and considerably more than similar power levels from
is scheduled for late 2023 is unaffected new renewable power plants.

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