SUBMISSIONS ON ESKOMS APPLICATIONS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY ACT, 2004

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) argues that Eskom's requests to postpone compliance with the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (AQA) should be denied due to flawed atmospheric modelling, exaggerated compliance costs, and significant risks to human health. The CER contends that Eskom fails to meet the legal requirements for postponement, particularly regarding the impact on declared Priority Areas. Furthermore, the document critiques Eskom's proposal for emission offsets as lacking a legal basis and sufficient data, while highlighting that granting these postponements would lead to substantial increases in SO2, NOx, and PM10 emissions through 2020.

• Eskom's atmospheric modelling is fundamentally flawed because it assesses each power station in isolation, ignoring the combined impact of multiple stations within the same airshed. This approach underestimates ambient concentrations of SO2, NOx, and PM.
• The CER asserts that Eskom has significantly exaggerated the capital expenditure (CAPEX) required for compliance. For particulate matter (PM) abatement, Eskom estimated costs at R2581/kW, while the CER cites studies suggesting state-of-the-art electrostatic precipitators could cost as little as R529/kW.
• Granting the postponement applications would lead to a substantial increase in total annual emissions by 2020: SO2 emissions would increase by approximately 25%, NOx by 18%, and PM10 by about 50% over current levels.
• Eskom's 'source apportionment' argument—which claims that high PM10 levels are primarily caused by domestic fuel use rather than power stations—is rejected. The CER provides evidence that inversion layer heights often exceed stack heights, meaning pollutants are trapped and contribute to ground-level pollution.
• The document highlights a severe health risk, citing an expert report that estimates Eskom's current emissions cause 2,200 premature deaths per year. Non-compliance with the MES could result in an additional 20,000 premature deaths over the remaining life of the plants.
• Eskom's proposal to use emission offsets (such as improving household insulation or stoves) to compensate for power station emissions is criticized for lacking a legal basis in the AQA or the National Framework for Air Quality Management.
• The majority of Eskom's coal-fired power stations are located in declared Priority Areas (Highveld, Vaal Triangle, and Waterberg), where air quality is already compromised. Granting postponements would contradict the purpose of these declarations.
• The CER identifies numerous technical errors and inconsistencies in Eskom's applications, including discrepancies between mass balance data and general information, and incorrect volumetric flow rates for several power stations.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2014). SUBMISSIONS ON ESKOMS APPLICATIONS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY ACT, 2004. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CER-submissions-on-Eskoms-postponement-applications_12-Feb-2014_final1.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. SUBMISSIONS ON ESKOMS APPLICATIONS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY ACT, 2004. 2014. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CER-submissions-on-Eskoms-postponement-applications_12-Feb-2014_final1.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=SUBMISSIONS ON ESKOMS APPLICATIONS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY ACT, 2004 |date=12 February 2014 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CER-submissions-on-Eskoms-postponement-applications_12-Feb-2014_final1.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2014submissions, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{SUBMISSIONS ON ESKOMS APPLICATIONS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY ACT, 2004}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CER-submissions-on-Eskoms-postponement-applications_12-Feb-2014_final1.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }