Eskom denied pollution exemptions for Medupi, Matimba plants

Eskom has been denied exemptions from sulfur dioxide air pollution limits for its Medupi and Matimba power plants.

The utility was notified of the refusal by South Africa’s National Air Quality Officer, Thuli Khumalo in a letter, copies of which were released on Monday by Eskom’s advisers and are on the Environmental Impact Management Services’ website.

Eskom had sought to be permitted to emit 4 000 milligrams of sulfur dioxide per normal cubic meter from Medupi until 2030 and the same amount from Matimba until that plant is decommissioned. It also unsuccessfully sought higher emission levels for nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter at Matimba.

“Eskom has made minimal effort to fully comply with the standards,” Khumalo said in an October 30 letter to the company notifying it of her decision. Granting the request would be illegal, she said.

Eskom is the world’s biggest emitter of sulfur dioxide, a pollutant linked to ailments ranging from asthma to heart attacks, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said in October. The company, which has a debt burden of R400 billion ($25 billion), has said it can’t afford to make the investments needed to curb emissions of the pollutant.

The utility will need to comply with an earlier instruction to emit a maximum of 3 500 normal cubic meters of sulfur dioxide at Matimba and comply with the same limit at Medupi until 2030, when it will have to reduce emissions to 1 000 milligrams per normal cubic meter.

Khumalo said Eskom must submit a plan on how it will offset emissions from Medupi within 90 days of her October 30 decision.

The denial of permission was reported earlier by Business Insider.