The Koeberg nuclear power station near Melkbos in Cape Town.
Stuart Apsey/ Getty Images
Just days before its 20-year license was set to expire on Monday, Koeberg’s Unit 2 has been granted an extension to operate another 20 years.
The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) approved Eskom’s application for the extension, as had been done in July for Unit 1.
This ensures a total generation capacity of 1 860MW produced by Koeberg, SA’s only nuclear power station, will remain until 2044. Unit 1’s switch-off date is 21 July 2044, and Unit 2’s date is 9 November 2044.
The NNR said in a statement the decision about Unit 2 “follows a comprehensive and transparent regulatory process, which included a third set of public hearings held in the Northern and Western Cape provinces in late September and early October 2025 so that public concerns could be considered in the decision.”
Protas Phili, NNR board chair, said:
“The NNR’s primary mandate is to protect persons, property, and the environment against the harmful effects of radiation. This licence approval was granted after a rigorous safety assessment, which confirmed that all regulatory requirements for the period of long-term operation have been met for Unit 2 and relevant public representations were considered in the decision-making process.”
Environmental activists have maintained in their submissions that the monitoring system for the Unit 2 containment buildings broke down, meaning there is no reliable data on the building’s structural integrity. Eskom has repeatedly denied this.
The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2025 recently released, envisions another 5 200MW of nuclear capacity after 2030 – the equivalent of almost three new Koeberg power stations.
