Nuclear Heavyweights Compete for South Africa's $250 Million Koeberg Re-fit

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--South Africa's state-owned power utility Eskom (Johannesburg) recently reported that the winner of the bid to replace the six steam generators at Koeberg, the country's sole nuclear power plant, will be announced in early 2014.

There has been some contention between Eskom and the government over the $250 million bid. In June, the Mail & Guardian reported that Public Enterprise Minister Malusi Gigaba was angered by Eskom's handling of the contracts and by what he saw as excessive pressure to sign off on the tenders. Because they exceed the Eskom board's $30 million authorization threshold, the tenders require his approval.

Driving the dispute was the decision to award the majority of work in the tender to Westinghouse (Cranberry, Pennsylvania), rather than its French competitor, Areva (OTC:ARVCF) (Paris, France), which signed letters of intent with Eskom during President Zuma's visit to France in March.

This week nuclear accords were renewed with France during French President Francois Hollande's state visit to South Africa. The 1,800-megawatt (MW) Koeberg plant, on the South Atlantic coast near Cape Town, was built by Framatome, now part of Areva, in the early 1980s

The replacement of the six generators is intended to extend the operating life of Koeberg by 10 years and is a part of the 9,600-MW nuclear program under consideration. It is attracting the interest of international suppliers.

There also has been sustained interest shown by Russia in South Africa's possible addition of 9,600 MW of nuclear power to the grid through 2030, which has produced accords during reciprocal visits by presidents Putin and Zuma during the past two years.

For related information, see July 17, 2013, article - South Africa Weighs Gas a High-Cost Power Fuel Alternative to Nuclear Ambitions.

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