Nuclear planning must go ahead – Molefe
ESKOM warned that the country could return to dire electricity shortages by 2030 unless it entered the active planning stages of a nuclear power expansion programme soon.
Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe told Parliament yesterday that missed deadlines and cost escalations that accompanied the construction of the Medupi and Kusile power stations came because building began in a “knee-jerk” rush before the plans for the two coal-based power plants were completed.
Molefe said this happened because Eskom’s initial warning of a looming power crisis in 1998 was ignored and delaying on nuclear would result in another crisis as early as 2028, he said.
“By 2030 we will need energy from nuclear,” Molefe said. “If we continue with the bickering that we are experiencing now, instead of doing something that is meaningful, in 2035 we will be back in the same position and that is our warning born out of bitter experience.
“Five to six years must go just into planning, and another five years into building. We must not make the same mistake we made with Kusile and Medupi and start building when we are not ready.”
Molefe told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting that he believed warnings about the cost implications for the country of a nuclear build were exaggerated as the 80year lifespan of nuclear reactors meant the enterprise would pay for itself.
Feasible
He stressed that the planning could be financed from the utility’s balance sheet, and therefore Eskom would not seek funding from the National Treasury at this stage.
“We have not asked for public finance for nuclear and we should be able to finance the planning stages off the balance sheet. You just need to be creative rather than letting our incompetence at structuring a proposal see us walking away from something that is actually feasible,” Molefe said.
Eskom’s next requirement from the finance ministry was for approval in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PMFA) to proceed with the opening stages of the nuclear build programme.
“I do not see any major reason to withhold PMFA approval. The Treasury does not have a history of unreasonably withholding PMFA approval,” Molefe said.