COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED CONCURRENCE WITH THE MINISTERIAL DETERMINATION ON THE PROCUREMENT OF NEW GENERATION CAPACITY OF 3000 MW FROM GAS

A joint submission by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), groundWork Trust, South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), and Natural Justice objecting to a proposed Ministerial Determination for the procurement of 3,000 MW of gas-to-power capacity in South Africa. The submission argues that the determination is legally flawed, procedurally unfair, and environmentally and economically irrational.

• The draft gas determination is alleged to be 'tailor-made and retro-fitted' to facilitate a specific existing Eskom project in Richards Bay, rather than being based on a comprehensive assessment of national electricity needs or economic feasibility.
• The public consultation process conducted by NERSA is described as 'woefully inadequate' due to contradictory deadlines, insufficient time for review (16 working days), a lack of critical technical information, and a failure to provide notices in isiZulu for affected communities in Richards Bay.
• The submission asserts that the draft determination fails to meet legal requirements of the New Generation Regulations because it does not specify the identity of the buyer and is ambiguous about whether the capacity will be established by Eskom or an Independent Power Producer (IPP).
• Gas-to-power is argued to be a high-emission technology that contradicts South Africa's climate commitments; the authors state that 3,000 MW of capacity fueled by imported LNG would emit over 2.5 million tonnes of CO2e annually at 75% capacity.
• The document claims that new gas capacity is not required for energy security, citing reports that existing open-cycle gas-turbine (OCGT) plants can provide necessary peaking capacity until the late 2030s, and that renewables with storage are more cost-effective alternatives.
• There is a significant risk that the proposed gas infrastructure will become 'stranded assets' due to the falling cost of renewables, international carbon border taxes, and the global necessity to phase out fossil fuels to meet the 1.5°C warming limit.
• The submission argues that the procurement of gas-to-power would cause the Eskom Board to breach its fiduciary duties under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Companies Act by failing to protect the financial interests of the state and the entity.
• The authors challenge the 'bridging fuel' narrative, stating that methane leaks across the gas lifecycle make it as emission-intensive as coal, and that the climate impacts of gas are greater than coal when evaluated over a 20-year timeframe.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2022). COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED CONCURRENCE WITH THE MINISTERIAL DETERMINATION ON THE PROCUREMENT OF NEW GENERATION CAPACITY OF 3000 MW FROM GAS. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Joint-Submission-on-the-s34-Determination_vf-as-submitted.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED CONCURRENCE WITH THE MINISTERIAL DETERMINATION ON THE PROCUREMENT OF NEW GENERATION CAPACITY OF 3000 MW FROM GAS. 2022. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Joint-Submission-on-the-s34-Determination_vf-as-submitted.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED CONCURRENCE WITH THE MINISTERIAL DETERMINATION ON THE PROCUREMENT OF NEW GENERATION CAPACITY OF 3000 MW FROM GAS |date=16 September 2022 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Joint-Submission-on-the-s34-Determination_vf-as-submitted.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2022comment, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED CONCURRENCE WITH THE MINISTERIAL DETERMINATION ON THE PROCUREMENT OF NEW GENERATION CAPACITY OF 3000 MW FROM GAS}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Joint-Submission-on-the-s34-Determination_vf-as-submitted.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }