South African electricity utility Eskom has confirmed receipt of 27 ‘acknowledgement forms’ formally notifying the State-owned group of an intention to respond to its Nuclear New Build Programme request for information (RfI). It has also confirmed that notifications were received from major nuclear vendors from China (SNPTC), France (EDF), Russia (Rusatom Overseas) and South Korea (Kepco).

Eskom released the RfI documentation on December 20 and set 10:00 on April 28 as the closing date for responses. However, the RFI also requested those intending to participate in the process to submit an acknowledgement form by January 31.

Interim CEO Matshela Koko said Eskom was “looking forward to the information supplied to confirm our understanding of the key issues that impact the timing and affordability of a nuclear program.”

The RfI was issued instead of the initially anticipated request for proposals (RfP) and Eskom previously stressed that the process did not amount to a competitive tender and would, thus, not create any financial commitments or obligations on it or government.

In fact, Eskom pointed out in a statement that the intention to submit a response to the RfI did not commit a company to submitting a response to a potential future RfP. However, it also said that the “quantum of the response to the RfI shows the level of competitive interest in the South African Nuclear New Build Programme”.

Nevertheless, the RfI remains controversial, particularly in light of Eskom’s opposition to the signing of power purchase agreements with independent renewable-energy generators, owing to its assertion that the power system will remain in surplus until 2021.

Controversy also surrounds Eskom’s recent designation as the procurer, owner and operator of any nuclear generation plant. Prior to the Government Gazette notice of December 14, the utility had only been designated the owner and operator.

The RfI has also been released despite the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) base case, which suggests that the first new nuclear capacity will only be required in 2037, rather than the 2023 date in the current outdated IRP 2010.

However, Eskom says the information gathered through the RfI process will be used to supplement Eskom’s response to the current draft IRP 2016.