South Africa will press ahead with plans to expand its nuclear power capacity despite a series of minor safety incidents at its four-decade-old Koeberg nuclear power station that prompted heightened monitoring earlier this month, multiple news outlets reported Monday.
Koeberg, located about 30 kilometers or 19 miles north of Cape Town on the Atlantic coast, experienced several incidents in late June and early July that resulted in the detection of elevated airborne radioactive contamination.
Authorities said the events were fully contained, with no release of radioactive material into the environment and no risk to the public.
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reportedly told a press conference on Sunday that the exposure at Koeberg is encountered "in our daily lives," seeking to reassure South Africans about the plant's safety.
He added that they were proceeding with the nuclear build program, noting that the move will add another 20 years of power from the two Koeberg nuclear units.
South Africa plans to add 5,200 megawatts of nuclear generating capacity by around 2040 under its long-term energy blueprint as it seeks to diversify the country's electricity mix.
The South African Ministry of Electricity and Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from.
Koeberg is Africa's only commercial nuclear power station and both of its generating units have received regulatory approval to continue operating for another 20 years.
South Africa, Africa's most industrialized economy, has gone more than a year without the rolling blackouts known locally as load shedding, which had disrupted households and businesses almost daily for years.