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 3,217 self-reported exceedances of AEL limits across 14 coal-fired power stations over a 21-month period. It highlights chronic pollution issues, particularly regarding particulate matter at stations without fabric filters, and criticizes the lack of electronic, standardized reporting.

• Between April 2016 and December 2017, 14 operating coal-fired power stations self-reported a total of 3,217 exceedances of daily Atmospheric Emissions Licenses (AEL) limits for particulate matter (PM), sulfur oxides (SO2), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx).
• Certain power stations exhibited chronic exceedances for specific pollutants: Lethabo and Duvha reported PM exceedances in 100% of months (21/21), Kriel in 95% (20/21), and Kendal in 90% (19/21). Matimba reported SO2 exceedances in 100% of reported months (20/20), while Matla reported NOx exceedances in 76% of reported months (16/21).
• There is a correlation between the lack of fabric filters and frequent PM exceedances; stations without these filters, including Lethabo, Kriel, Kendal, Duvha, and Matla, had the most frequent PM AEL limit exceedances.
• Many power stations have AEL limits that are more lenient than the 2015 Minimum Emission Standards (MES). For example, Matla's PM limit of 125 mg/Nm3 and NOx limit of 1200 mg/Nm3, and Kriel's PM limit of 125 mg/Nm3, all exceed the 2015 MES.
• The magnitude of some exceedances was significantly higher than the limits; PM exceedances reached at least 500 mg/Nm3 at Duvha and Lethabo, 600 mg/Nm3 at Kriel, and 1500 mg/Nm3 at Grootvlei.
• The author notes that the analysis is conservative and likely underestimates the problem due to incomplete data, including the exclusion of 49 exceedances from repetitive reporting and 114 from erroneous reports.
• The report identifies significant failures in reporting quality, citing instances where graphs were copied from previous reports with only the month name changed (Tutuka) or contained unreasonably high numbers (Grootvlei).

APA

Sahu, R. (. (2019). 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/2020/08/Annexure-2A.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, 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Annexure-2A.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=22 March 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Annexure-2A.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sahu2019eskom, 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 = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Annexure-2A.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }