Groups seek stay of nuclear power plans

Earthlife Africa Johannesburg and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute have approached the Gauteng High Court to seek an order staying the nuclear planning process, according to a TimeLIVE report. Last week the same NGOs sent a request to Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown and Energy Minister David Mahlobo‚ as well as the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa)‚ asking for a commitment from the authorities to follow legal processes and allow public consultation on proposed nuclear deals. According to Earthlife Africa‚ Mahlobo’s recent ‘utterances in the press’ suggested that the finalisation of the integrated resource plan and the nuclear programme was being fast-tracked. ‘Yet government has failed to implement the necessary public participation required by the (Western Cape High Court) judgment that was delivered on 26 April 2017.’ The NGOs are asking that a lawful determination in terms of s34 of the Electricity Regulation Act 'would have to specify that new nuclear energy electricity generation is needed‚ and what percentage of SA’s energy mix it would fulfil.’ The court will also be asked to direct Mahlobo and Eskom to provide written reports on what steps they have and plan to take on plans for nuclear power. Should evidence exist they had taken steps to forge ahead with nuclear‚ the court will be asked to declare Mahlobo and Eskom in contempt of court for violating the April court order. ‘We cannot have unaccountable government’‚ said Liz McDaid, of the faith communities’ institute. ‘We have now seen overwhelming evidence emerging into the public arena that shows how state institutions have been captured and how money that is meant to deliver services to South Africans has gone into the pockets of looters. The nuclear deal‚ purportedly worth more than R1trn‚ is yet another one of these deals.’

– TimesLIVE

Eskom is powering ahead with plans in preparation for the tender programme to be rebooted, says a Fin24 report. ‘All current nuclear procurement processes have been suspended after the Western Cape High Court case,’ Eskom’s board said in a shareholder report on 30 September. Fin24 and EE Publishers have reportedly seen this report, which, says Fin24, also shows that Eskom’s preparation for a nuclear new build programme has continued. ‘Whilst Eskom has terminated all procurement processes, current development work as the owner and operator is ongoing, in order to reach a state of readiness for construction.’ In a section on tax planning, the document states that Eskom ‘plans to conduct research and develop a technical document on the components of a new nuclear power station that should qualify for accelerated capital allowances’. However, Eskom also noted that current government guarantees do not provide for further investment in capital expenditure beyond the Medupi and Kusile new build programmes. While Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has said government does not have the money to provide any further guarantees to Eskom, Mahlobo and President Jacob Zuma have made it clear that a nuclear programme will go ahead at some point. A new study released by Meridian Economics argues that Eskom should not build any new nuclear power stations if it wants to survive as an entity.

Full Fin24 report

The Russians remain committed to competing to build the nuclear plants. According to a Weekend Argus report, head of Rosatom in sub-Saharan Africa, Viktor Polikarpov, said they were still in the race to build nuclear energy plants in SA. Polikarpov, who was in Ghana, said they were not involved in politics and were simply business people. He said Rosatom was busy all over Africa. ‘As for SA, if the government launches another tender we will participate. This is business for us, which should not be mixed with politics,’ said Polikarpov.

Full Weekend Argus report (subscription needed)