Eskom Power Station Exceedances of Applicable Atmospheric Emission License (AEL) Limit Values for PM, SO2 & NOx During April 2016 to December 2017

The report identifies 3,181 exceedances of daily AEL limits for PM, SO2, and NOx across 14 Eskom coal-fired power stations between April 2016 and December 2017. The author notes that these figures are conservative due to incomplete and inconsistent hardcopy reporting. Several plants showed chronic violations, with some AEL limits exceeding the 2015 Minimum Emission Standards. The report recommends transitioning to electronic, standardized reporting that includes unit-level energy production and capacity data to improve transparency and enforcement.

• Between April 2016 and December 2017, 14 Eskom coal-fired power stations reported a total of 3,181 violations of their daily Atmospheric Emissions Licenses (AEL) for particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx).
• Certain power stations exhibited chronic exceedances for specific pollutants: Lethabo and Duvha had PM exceedances in 100% of reported months, Kriel in 95%, and Kendal in 90%. Matimba reported SO2 exceedances in 100% of reported months, while Matla had NOx exceedances in 76% of reported months.
• Several plants operate under AEL limits that are more lenient than the 2015 Minimum Emission Standards (MES), which are 100 mg/Nm3 for PM, 3500 mg/Nm3 for SO2, and 1100 mg/Nm3 for NOx. Examples include Matla (PM limit of 125 mg/Nm3 and NOx limit of 1200 mg/Nm3), Kriel (PM limit of 125 mg/Nm3), and Grootvlei (SO2 limit of 4000 mg/Nm3 and NOx limit of 1700 mg/Nm3).

APA

Sahu, R. (. (2018). Eskom Power Station Exceedances of Applicable Atmospheric Emission License (AEL) Limit Values for PM, SO2 & NOx During April 2016 to December 2017. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Annexure-2-2.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Sahu, Ranajit (Ron). Eskom Power Station Exceedances of Applicable Atmospheric Emission License (AEL) Limit Values for PM, SO2 & NOx During April 2016 to December 2017. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Annexure-2-2.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sahu |first1=Ranajit (Ron) |title=Eskom Power Station Exceedances of Applicable Atmospheric Emission License (AEL) Limit Values for PM, SO2 & NOx During April 2016 to December 2017 |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=15 November 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Annexure-2-2.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sahu2018eskom, author = {Sahu, Ranajit (Ron)}, title = {{Eskom Power Station Exceedances of Applicable Atmospheric Emission License (AEL) Limit Values for PM, SO2 \& NOx During April 2016 to December 2017}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Annexure-2-2.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }