National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) Readiness for Nuclear New Programme 1 Portfolio Committee on Energy 02 June 2015 Mr Zizamele Mbambo: DDG Nuclear

Outline 2 Regulatory Framework readiness Human Resources and Skills readiness International Relations and Cooperation Challenges

1. Regulatory Framework Readiness 3 Self-assessment was carried out in 2010 with the assistance of the IAEA tools, and a number of gaps were identified in the regulatory framework An action plan was developed to address the gaps; mainly on effectiveness of regulations and alignment of the regulatory framework with international best practice New regulations were developed, the latest set of these were approved by the NNR Board in its 29 th April Board meeting These and other regulations finalized in 2014 have now been submitted to the Minister of Energy for further processing and ultimate promulgation Weakness were also identified in the legislative framework: For example, it did not empower the NNR to impose commensurate penalties on transgressions from regulatory requirements

1.Regulatory Framework Readiness- Cont 4 A draft amended NNR Act has also been submitted to the Minister of Energy in 2014 and will be in effect by mid-2017, depending on processes involved Post Fukushima, a number of regulatory guidance documents have also been developed and published to assist in the licensing of new build, more are being developed. Continuous interactions with international counterparts on the licensing philosophy, especially taking into consideration the lessons- learnt from the Fukushima accident. NNR participated in Energy Security Subcommittee working groups and the nuclear vendor parades to ensure that it is part of the discussions around the technologies offered to South Africa for new build, solely for purposes of ensuring that these technologies are safe enough to be licensable within the Republic of South Africa, through satisfying the NNR requirements

2. Human Resources and Skills Readiness 5 During the 2013/2014 financial year, the NNR increased its staff by about 23% from 93 to 125 Purpose was to capacitate the regulator address current capacity problems, to carry out the Koeberg Steam Generator Replacement licensing project, and to prepare for Nuclear New Build Revamping the NNR Inspector Training and Qualifications programme to be on par with international norms and standards Utilizing bilateral agreements to leverage training opportunities for NNR staff e.g. USNRC, European Commission, China and France, and also multilateral agreements e.g. IAEA The process to establish the Centre of Excellence for Nuclear Safety and Security is at an advanced stage: The Centre will be 100% owned by the NNR, be hosted by one university and will involve participation of many South African universities and overseas ones

2. Human Resources and Skills Readiness 6 MoUs are currently being signed by the interested universities, an audit of academic and research capabilities, infrastructure and facilities in these universities was carried out by the NNR and a good picture has emerged of where the capabilities and gaps exist locally. International counterparts (universities and research centres) will augment the gaps The Centre is envisaged to stand on three legs, namely: Teaching and Learning in Nuclear Safety and Security, Research and Development, as well as Capacity to provide Consultancy Services in the area of Nuclear Safety, Security and Radiation Protection Ultimate aim is to have a home-grown cadre of skills to support both the NNR and industry, specifically on areas of Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Security and Radiation Protection

3. Public assurance and emergency preparedness The Public Safety Information Forums are well established and maintained in order to effectively share information on nuclear safety and emergency planning and preparedness The NNR continues to implement regular Emergency Planning and Preparedness Exercises to provide Public assurance of nuclear safety NNR has recently established an Emergency Control and Response Centre to deal with preparedness in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency 7

International Collaboration and Cooperation 8 NNR continues to play a leadership role in the regional forums such as FNRBA with a view to strengthening the regulatory regime on the continent. Post Fukushima recommendations emphasise the importance of transboundary relations. As such the NNR continues to invest in strengthening relationships within the region in preparation for New Build. In order to leverage international experience and collaboration to capacitate the NNR technically, bilateral agreements were signed and continue to be utilized by the NNR to be on par with the best of the best

International Collaboration and Cooperation 9 The focus is to partner more with countries that are preparing to license new nuclear power plants like us, or those who are in the process of doing that already Experienced countries like the US, France, Russia, China, Finland, Republic of Korea, UK are some of the countries we are working very closely with NNR received assistance in training cost-free from the US, France, China, and the European Commission in strengthening our technical capacity NNR participates in the Multinational Design Evaluation Program (MDEP) which is a forum where regulatory bodies exchange information and form common approach to licensing different reactor designs (under the auspices of the OECD/NEA)

International Relations and Cooperation It is notably the is only one of the three regulators from non-OECD countries who are members of this forum NNR CEO is the Vice-Chairman of the Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF) which is a body comprising of countries experienced in nuclear regulation as well as countries seeking assistance in building their nuclear regulatory infrastructures (under the auspices of the IAEA). Feedback from this forum has proven to be very valuable for NNR’s preparedness for new nuclear build licensing NNR represents South Africa (as a signatory) to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, which is a peer review forum on nuclear safety issues. This helps to measure up the NNR’s strengths and weaknesses against its international counterparts. So far, the feedback we are getting from these discussions points to a regulator on an upward trajectory 10

Challenges 11 Funding for the NNR has always been an issue of contention: The NNR receives its revenue from two streams, namely, operators of nuclear facilities and grant from the fiscus The grant from the fiscus has been declining steadily over the 2014/15 to 2016/17 FY, in light of the mandatory budget cuts from National Treasury This is not sustainable for a body with such a very serious mandate The NNR carries responsibility on behalf of government to represent it in many international obligations which government is a signatory to. This represent a sizeable cost to the NNR, which the government does not cater for

Challenges 12 For NNR to roll-out its full-steam readiness programme for the new build, the size of the NNR may need to be more than doubled, totalling around 300 staff members. Provision for these should be made in the funding of the NNR in the immediate future. The operation of the Centre of Excellence discussed above will only be feasible if more funds are availed to the NNR, as this is a developmental endeavour and needs a longer lead time before the actual new build takes off. Funding constrain limit regulatory ability to carry its activities

Thank You 13