IN SHORT: Eskom is in exploratory funding talks with the World Bank, the African Development Bank and commercial lenders for a multibillion-dollar nuclear programme that could launch within 12 months. The utility is proposing 5,200MW of new capacity: 4,800MW from conventional pressurised water reactors and 400MW from small modular reactors. Eskom cannot fund the programme itself and is actively seeking partners with ideas on financing structure.
South Africa’s state power utility Eskom has confirmed it is in exploratory talks with the World Bank and other international financiers over funding for a new nuclear build programme targeting 5,200 megawatts of capacity, enough to meaningfully shift South Africa’s baseload power profile away from coal. Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom’s group executive for generation, disclosed the talks on May 20 at the Enlit Africa energy conference in Cape Town, telling Reuters the utility is looking for anyone with ideas on how to fund the programme. A request for information covering both conventional reactors and small modular reactors is being prepared.
- Eskom is proposing 4,800MW from conventional pressurised water reactors and 400MW from small modular reactors, with at least half of the SMR capacity earmarked for a coal-to-nuclear transition strategy at existing coal plant sites.
- The World Bank returned to nuclear financing in 2025 after years of exclusion, stating it would support countries that choose nuclear as part of their energy mix. A spokesperson declined to confirm the Eskom discussions, citing policy against commenting on exploratory talks.
- Eskom already operates Africa’s only nuclear power station, the 1,860MW Koeberg facility near Cape Town. Koeberg’s Unit 1 reactor recently completed a 20-year life extension, confirming the utility’s long-term commitment to nuclear as a baseload source.
- South Africa is seeking stable baseload power as it phases out coal, which still supplies more than 80% of electricity. Renewable energy has scaled rapidly but cannot provide the always-on supply that the industrial economy requires.
- Eskom is cash-constrained after years of financial distress and cannot self-fund a programme of this scale. Nxumalo said the utility is engaging commercial banks and development finance institutions alongside multilateral lenders.
- Environmental groups and affected communities have lodged opposition to the nuclear expansion. Nxumalo acknowledged the technology faces domestic resistance but said the energy transition imperatives outweigh it.
The nuclear funding push sits within South Africa’s broader energy transition strategy, which has moved faster than almost any comparable economy in recent years. Load-shedding has effectively ended following the emergency scaling of renewables, battery storage and open-cycle gas turbines, and the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act has opened the market to independent power producers. Nuclear is the next structural layer: a technology that provides the constant baseload that wind and solar cannot, and that removes the last argument for coal retention. The World Bank’s 2025 policy shift on nuclear is directly relevant to the Eskom conversation since it opens a financing window that was previously closed for multilateral support.
The Bigger Picture: 5,200MW of new nuclear capacity at current build costs would require somewhere between $15 billion and $25 billion depending on technology choice and financing terms. That is a number Eskom cannot reach without a consortium of development finance institutions, export credit agencies and commercial banks. The 12-month launch window Nxumalo referenced likely refers to the formal procurement process beginning, not to construction. Even optimistic timelines put first power from a new reactor in the mid-2030s. What matters now is whether the World Bank and the AfDB formally commit to the financing conversation, because that commitment changes the political economy of the entire programme.
Source: CNBC Africa, May 20 2026 / Times Live, May 20 2026
