[en] Eskom, the South African utility, operates one of the largest electricity networks in the world. However, only 6% of the South African generating capacity is nuclear; the remainder is coal fired and hydroelectric. The nuclear component consists of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant, comprising two French supplied PWRs of 920 MWe each, situated approximately 45 kilometres from cape Town. Construction started in 1976 and the two reactors reached criticality in 1984 and 1985 respectively. South Africa also has an Oak Ridge type research reactor, called SAFARI, operated by the South African Atomic Energy Corporation (AEC) at their Pelindaba site near Pretoria. This research reactor was commissioned in 1965, and has been in operation ever since. South Africa has a National Radioactive Waste Disposal facility called Vaalputs, some 600 km north of Cape Town. The facility, operated by AEC, is presently licensed only for the disposal of low and intermediate radioactive level wastes. Vaalputs offers unique features as a potential interim spent fuel storage and final disposal site, such as favorable geology (granite), low seismicity, low population density, remoteness from industrial centres and and conditions. Therefore, this site has been investigated by the AEC as a potential interim spent fuel storage site, but has not yet been licensed for this purpose. Hence, all spent fuel is currently stored on the two sites at Koeberg and Pelindaba respectively. The spent fuel storage pools at Koeberg have recently been enlarged to accommodate the lifetime spent fuel arisings of the plant. Since late 1997, the Safari spent fuel is stored in a pipe storage facility, constructed away from the reactor on the Pelindaba site. (author)