South Africa extends licence of nuclear power plant’s second unit by 20 years

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South Africa extends licence of nuclear power plant’s second unit by 20 years

10:21 CAT | 07 Nov 2025

FILE - An aerial view of South Africa’s Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, in Cape Town, South Africa, December 5, 2022. [File photo: Reuters/Esa Alexander]

South African authorities have agreed to extend the operating licence of the second unit of the Koeberg nuclear power plant by 20 years, the country’s nuclear regulator said on Thursday.

Last year the regulator granted a similar licence extension to the first unit of the only operational nuclear power plant on the African continent, located close to Cape Town and built during the 1980s.

Its initial licence was for 40 years.

State power utility Eskom, which runs Koeberg, applied for the extension as part of its efforts to end recurring power cuts, which have held back South Africa’s economic growth for more than a decade but have become much less frequent since last year.

“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,” the nuclear regulator said.

Source: Reuters