According to thIS new publication, about 600 million people and 10 million small businesses in Africa have no reliable source of electricity, and increasingly, connection to a national grid is no guarantee of electricity supply. Blackouts are becoming more frequent, and in sub-Saharan Africa, the World Bank reports that almost 80 per cent of businesses suffer from power outages, greatly curtailing their activities. Meanwhile, Africa’s energy demand is increasing twice as fast as the global average, largely driven by urban population growth. Against this backdrop, several countries in Africa are exploring the possibility of adding nuclear power to their energy mix, with Egypt recently starting construction on its first nuclear power plant. South Africa, the only nuclear operator on the continent with two reactors totalling almost 2000 MWe, is considering long term operation of the Koeberg nuclear power station and expanding its nuclear power programme.
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