Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George will on March 31 announce a decision regarding Eskom’s application for additional minimum emission standards (MES) exemptions for some of its coal-fired power stations.

In May last year, then Minister Barbara Creecy granted Eskom permission to continue to operate Hendrina, Grootvlei, Arnot, Camden and Kriel at existing MES plant limits until March 31, 2030, after which the stations would be decommissioned.

Creecy’s decision followed an appeal of the National Air Quality Officer’s October 2023 MES decision, which Eskom said would lead to the shutting of 30 000 MW of capacity, as the cost of retrofitting the plants to meet air-pollution limits would be a prohibitive R300-billion. The application for exemptions was made in the context of extreme loadshedding in 2023 and was granted as the rotational power cuts began to ease in 2024.

Eskom subsequently filed applications on December 10 in terms of section 59 of the National Environmental Management Air Quality for exemptions from MES for eight of its other coal-fired power stations, namely: Duvha, Kendal, Lethabo, Majuba, Matimba, Matla, Medupi and Tutuka.

In a statement, George stressed that the decision was a complex one, as it required “balancing South Africa’s energy needs to drive economic growth with the constitutional right to a healthy environment”.

He argued, however, that Eskom could not be given a “blanket waiver to continue polluting without accountability”, adding that South Africa could not remain trapped in a persistent cycle of energy insecurity and environmental degradation that harmed public health.

George also asserted that Eskom’s monopoly over electricity generation and transmission had stifled competition, slowed the adoption of renewable energy, and left South Africa exposed to energy insecurity.

“The only viable path forward is to unbundle Eskom without further delay,” he said, while describing the transition to renewable energy as “not negotiable”.

“Eskom must either comply with emissions regulations and accelerate its transition, or it will face the consequences,” George warned.