South Africa is preparing a 5 GW nuclear power programme to boost domestic power generation, in partnership with the state-owned South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA), which oversees civilian nuclear development. The initiative is part of the government’s strategy to stabilize the national grid, which has faced chronic power outages (332 days of scheduled blackouts were recorded in 2023, compared to about 205 in 2022).
Details on site locations, technology providers, construction costs, and the project timeline will be announced following government approval. This marks a new step in South Africa’s energy policy, two decades after the last expansion of the Koeberg nuclear plant (1.9 GW) near Cape Town, which remains the only operational commercial nuclear facility in Africa.
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