<P> Koeberg contains two pressurised water reactors based on a design by Framatome of France . Koeberg supplies power to the national grid so that over-capacity can be redistributed to the rest of the country on an as - needed basis . Fuel stock used within the reactor is enriched uranium dioxide pellets containing gadolinium, contained in fuel rods . Koeberg is rated at 1,860 MW, its average annual production is 13,668 GWh and it has two large turbine generators (2 × 970 MW). </P> <P> Each reactor delivers 970 MW (gross) and is capable of delivering 930 MW (net) to the grid . </P> <P> The power station was constructed near Cape Town to be the sole provider of power in the Western Cape after fossil - fuel power stations were deemed too small and too expensive to be viable . Nuclear power was considered because it was more economical than transporting coal to the existing fossil - fuel power stations, and construction of new fossil - fuel power - stations, which would have required 300 m tall chimneys to comply with clean - air legislation . Athlone Power Station in the city was too small to provide Cape Town's needs, and the Paarden Island power station (itself too small) has been demolished . </P> <P> Koeberg was one of the first nuclear power stations designed to be specifically resistant to earthquakes . The reactors at the Koeberg nuclear power station are built upon an aseismic raft designed--on the basis of a mid-1970s hazard study - to withstand a magnitude 7 earthquake at a focal distance of about 10 km, 0.3 g zero period ground acceleration (ZPGA). The largest recorded earthquake in the Cape Town area has been 6.5 magnitude at Jan Biesjes Kraal in 1809 . </P>

Why the koeberg power plant was built in the western cape