By Ron Derby

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) — Eskom Holdings Ltd., South Africa’s state-owned power utility, will select the winner of a tender for the construction of a 120 billion-rand ($11.7 billion) nuclear power plant in the country by January.

“We will announce the outcome of the commercial process before the end of the year,” Fani Zulu, a spokesman for Johannesburg-based Eskom, said in an interview today.

A group led by Areva SA proposed building two 1,650-megawatt reactors, while Toshiba Corp.’s Westinghouse Electric Co. offered to build three 1,140-megawatt reactors.

Output from Eskom, which supplies 95 percent of South Africa’s power, hasn’t kept pace with economic growth in Africa’s biggest economy. The utility has invoked power-reduction agreements with Anglo American Plc, Xstrata Plc and Mittal Steel South Africa Ltd.

Eskom will “have to review energy investments,” because of the slowdown in the global economy, Zulu said. “It is not a uniquely Eskom thing, it is happening everywhere.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Ron Derby in Johannesburg at rderby1@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 13, 2008 07:29 EST

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Posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 2:08 pm and is filed under greenenergy.
Tags: Africa, Anglo American Plc, Arcelormittal SA Limited, Areva, Areva SA, energy investments, Eskom, Eskom Holdings Limited, Fani Zulu, Johannesburg, Mittal Steel South Africa Ltd, Partnership, rderby1@bloomberg.net, Ron Derby, South Africa, Toshiba Corp., Toshiba Corporation, USD, Westinghouse Electric Co., Westinghouse Electric Company, Xstrata Plc.