Tag Archives: civil society

Where did the R1bn compensation claim paid by Eskom go?

Posted on by charscribe

Eskom has been ordered by the Western Cape High Court to pay a R1 billion compensation claim to Framatome, the supplier for the Steam Generator Replacement (SGR) project at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station. This costly consequence stems from a January 2022 decision by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) to approve the SGR project, despite Eskom’s failure to complete a building for the safe storage of the old, highly radioactive steam generators. 

The R1 billion, if paid, could potentially be shared between Framatome, Lesedi (the local contractor) and various subcontractors such as multinational engineering firm, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB). 

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Civil society responds to draft IRP: Nuclear push is costly, risky and unjust

Posted on by charscribe
The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: mallinson-2.jpg

Civil society organisations have joined growing criticism of the Department of Electricity and Energy’s proposed expansion of nuclear energy in the recently released draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), raising concerns about its financial viability and even its legality.

Summary of the draft IRP

Released in January 2025, the draft IRP’s purpose is to provide a roadmap for meeting South Africa’s forecasted electricity demand and was originally prepared under Minister Mantashe in the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy but the responsibility has since been handed over to the new Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.

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Koeberg: Intermittent and unpredictable

Posted on by charscribe

Koeberg nuclear power station was recently unexpectedly offline for over a week owing to multiple trips at the facility which eventually, combined with a high level of unplanned outages at other plants and finally issues at Kusile, resulted in stage 3 load shedding. Koeberg has come under renewed scrutiny for its inconsistent power generation.

Eskom’s media statement released on Monday, 10 March 2025, was titled: “Koeberg Unit 2 successfully restored to service following unplanned outage, delivering 930MW of reliable baseload power to South Africa” but energy experts and civil society organisations refute the “reliable baseload” statement.

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Civil society pushes for community inclusion in nuclear governance

Posted on by charscribe

Civil society organisations working in the areas of energy, climate, and sustainable development have called on the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, to initiate an open call for nominations to appoint a much-needed community representative to the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) board.

“The position has been vacant for over three years,” says youth activist Gabriel Klaasen. “In that time, critical decisions about Koeberg and new nuclear generation have been made without any representation from affected communities on the NNR board. This contradicts the Minister’s stated commitment to meaningful and fully informed public participation in the energy sector.”

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NNR Court case:  Deadline for ConCourt appeal passes

Posted on by Koeberg Alert

As described in a previous post both Minister Mantashe and the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) appealed against Peter Becker’s victory in the Western Cape High Court in January 2023. Despite the High Court refusing leave to appeal, the appeal was heard by a full bench of five judges at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on 17 May 2024.

The Supreme Court of Appeal issued a ruling on 28 June 2024 upholding the High Court findings, as well as making additional observations. The NNR and the Minister could have appealed again to the Constitutional Court, but the deadline to do so passed on 19 July without either party filing papers to the Constitutional Court.

The original case was filed in response to Minister Mantashe dismissing Becker from the Board of the NNR, where he was appointed to represent the interests of communities. Becker asked to High Court to review the Minister’s decision, and the High Court ruled that Mantashe’s decision to dismiss was unlawful, unconstitutional and done in bad faith with an ulterior motive with undue haste.

The following describes the appeal hearing, the ruling and also includes the full Heads of Argument submitted to the Court and the full Ruling (see bottom of this article).

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Threat of legal action forces release of safety information about Koeberg

Posted on by Koeberg Alert
Extract from the previous version of the Safety Case – revision 1a

This press statement was first released by Save Bantamsklip on 15 September 2023

In March 2023 civil society groups rejected the consultation process for the Koeberg life extension run by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR), citing concerns about a lack of transparency. Those concerns are now vindicated as the threat of legal action has forced Eskom to release information that was previously being withheld from the public by both Eskom and the NNR. (The newly released versions can be found at the bottom of this article.)

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NNR Court case:  Heading to the Supreme Court

Posted on by Koeberg Alert

Despite two rulings from the Western Cape High Court saying that National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) board member and civil society representative Peter Becker’s dismissal was “unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid”, Minister Mantashe and the chairperson of the NNR Board are both now attempting to take the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). 

In the 26 May 2023 High Court ruling, Judge Babalwa Mantame criticised the respondents, stating: “It appears that the respondents decided on reading the judgment of this Court selectively” and denied Mantashe and the NNR the right to appeal (see below for full judgment). However, both the Minister and the NNR chairperson have now indicated they will be requesting direct access to the SCA.

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State of disaster regulations a nightmare

Posted on by Koeberg Alert

On 27 February 2023 the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs gazetted the national state of disaster regulations related to South Africa’s energy crisis.

When the government first announced that it intended to declare a state of disaster, many experts and organisations stated that it was not necessary and a relaxed legislative environment would erode democratic governance. Inaction by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) caused the high levels of load shedding. Declaring a state of disaster was just an attempt to deflect blame.

This declaration of a state of disaster to “cut through the red tape” also allows the state to bypass important regulations and processes which is a major concern.

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NNR Court case: High Court hands down scathing judgment

Posted on by Koeberg Alert

First, some background…
The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) Act of 1999 requires that one Board member is appointed “representing communities”. In 2020 civil society became concerned that this post had been vacant for a while and there seemed to be no attempt by Minister Mantashe to appoint anyone to this position. After receiving nominations for Peter Becker from several civil society organisations and requesting Becker’s CV, the Minister appointed him in June 2021.

In the first Board meeting he attended in July 2021, there was a complaint initiated by Eskom that Becker’s well known anti-nuclear stance was a conflict of interest and it was resolved to get a legal opinion to inform the Board. The opinion was prepared by MacRobert attorneys, and the Chair forwarded this to the Minister on 11 October 2021 without sharing it with the full Board. The Chair also requested that the Minister dismiss Becker by writing in an accompanying letter “since the Minister is the competent authority that is responsible for appointment and removal of NNR board members.” For a summary as well as the full judgment, see below.

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NNR Court case: The Replying Affidavit from Becker

Posted on by Koeberg Alert

The matter concerning Minister Mantashe dismissing Peter Becker from the Board of the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) will be heard in the Western Cape High Court on 9 November 2022. Becker is asking that the decision to dismiss him is reviewed and set aside.

After receiving answering affidavits from Minister Mantashe and also from the Chair of the National Nuclear Regulator, Peter Becker has submitted a replying affidavit in response to the new points raised in the two answering affidavits.

Below is the text of the Replying Affidavit from Becker, which is now in the public court record.

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