South Africa grants Eskom coal-fired plants emissions exemptions

• 2 days ago (2025-04-01)
• David Flin

Africa 326 Coal 315

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Reuters has reported that South Africa’s environment minister has granted Eskom ’s coal-fired power stations limited exemptions from air quality laws and regulations relating to harmful emissions reduction.

Eskom, whose fleet of aging coal-fired power plants generates most of South Africa’s electricity, applied to exempt eight of its plants from minimum emission standards prescribed in air quality regulations.

The Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment (DFFE) said that it would require Eskom to increase monitoring, appoint environmental health specialists and provide mobile health clinics, among other measures. Dion George, South Africa’s Environment Minister, said: “These exemptions are not a blanket reprieve but are tailored to each facility with stringent conditions.”

Six of the plants – Lethabo, Kendal, Tutuka, Majuba, Matimba, and Medupi – will have exemptions capped at five years, expiring in April 2030. Duvha and Matla power stations will be exempted until their scheduled decommissioning in 2034.

Eskom has said that retrofitting its plants with new technology to reduce harmful emissions would be too costly.

A 10-year study found that people living near South Africa’s coal-fired power stations had a mortality rate 6 per cent higher than elsewhere in South Africa.