SUBMISSIONS ON THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION DOCUMENT (BID) FOR ESKOMassung FOR POSTPONEMENT OF THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS (MES) FOR 14 OF ITS COAL AND LIQUID FUEL-FIRED POWER STATIONS

The Life After Coal campaign, representing several environmental and community alliances, strongly objects to Eskom's request to postpone Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for 14 coal and liquid fuel-fired power stations. The submission argues that under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (AQA) and the associated Framework, postponements are only permissible if ambient air quality standards in the area are in compliance, which is not the case for the Highveld Priority Area (HPA), Vaal Triangle Airshed Priority Area (VTAPA), and Waterberg-Bojanala Priority Area (WBPA). The document highlights severe health impacts, including thousands of premature deaths attributed to PM2.5 emissions, and criticizes Eskom's Background Information Document (BID) for being inaccurate and incomplete. The campaign demands the rejection of the applications, the cessation of 'rolling postponements', and a just transition toward renewable energy.

• Postponement applications for MES compliance are legally impermissible in areas where National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are not met. The document asserts that 11 of the 14 stations are in the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) and one is in the Vaal Triangle Airshed Priority Area (VTAPA), both of which are in non-compliance with NAAQS.
• The Background Information Document (BID) is described as defective and misleading because it omits the Framework's postponement requirements and fails to mention that the HPA and VTAPA are out of compliance with NAAQS.
• Eskom is accused of seeking 'rolling postponements' for sulphur dioxide (SO2) new plant MES for almost all its stations, which the authors argue are illegal exemptions from the law.
• An assessment of Eskom's monthly emissions reports from April 2016 to December 2017 revealed over 3,000 exceedances of daily average emission limits for particulate matter (PM), SO2, and NOx across 14 coal-fired stations.
• Independent research by Dr Mike Holland estimates that PM2.5 emissions from Eskom's coal-fired power plants cause 2,239 deaths per year, including 157 from lung cancer and 719 from strokes.
• Eskom's own 2006 health studies indicated that future emissions from existing stations and the commissioning of new and return-to-service stations would lead to 617 non-accidental mortalities and 24,842 respiratory hospital admissions annually in the Mpumalanga Highveld.
• The proposed air quality modelling in the BID is criticized for only including individual Eskom stations and ignoring other major emission sources within a 100km radius, such as the Sasol Synfuels plant.
• South Africa's existing plant SO2 MES are significantly weaker than those in other jurisdictions, being 17.5 times weaker than standards in China, Germany, and the EU.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). SUBMISSIONS ON THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION DOCUMENT (BID) FOR ESKOMassung FOR POSTPONEMENT OF THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS (MES) FOR 14 OF ITS COAL AND LIQUID FUEL-FIRED POWER STATIONS. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/LAC-MES-Postponement-Submissions-11-September-2018.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. SUBMISSIONS ON THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION DOCUMENT (BID) FOR ESKOMassung FOR POSTPONEMENT OF THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS (MES) FOR 14 OF ITS COAL AND LIQUID FUEL-FIRED POWER STATIONS. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/LAC-MES-Postponement-Submissions-11-September-2018.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=SUBMISSIONS ON THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION DOCUMENT (BID) FOR ESKOMassung FOR POSTPONEMENT OF THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS (MES) FOR 14 OF ITS COAL AND LIQUID FUEL-FIRED POWER STATIONS |date=11 September 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/LAC-MES-Postponement-Submissions-11-September-2018.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2018submissions, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{SUBMISSIONS ON THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION DOCUMENT (BID) FOR ESKOMassung FOR POSTPONEMENT OF THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS (MES) FOR 14 OF ITS COAL AND LIQUID FUEL-FIRED POWER STATIONS}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/LAC-MES-Postponement-Submissions-11-September-2018.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }