Eskom workers: ‘We’re in the dark about just transition plans’

Repurposing the Camden, Hendrina and Grootvlei coal-fired power plants with renewable generation capacity will come with a $2.6 billion price tag, Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan said in a recent reply to parliamentary questions. 

The funding is anticipated to come from a combination of development finance institutions, climate funds and the private sector. 

Touted as the cultural heartland, Mpumalanga is, in reality, the country’s coal heartland, producing more than 80% of South Africa’s coal. 

The Mpumalanga Highveld is home to 12 of Eskom’s 15 coal-fired power stations, Sasol’s coal-to-liquids plant in Secunda, and the NatRef refinery in Sasolburg. Weaning the coal-dependent region off coal is a cornerstone of the government’s transition plans.

Grootvlei, near the town of Balfour, was constructed in the 1960s and mothballed in 1990 because of excess power at the time. In 2013, former president Jacob Zuma reopened it, after a R7.2 billion upgrade. Grootvlei will reach the end of its operational life in 2027, Eskom said.

The country’s energy planning is within the mandate of the department of mineral resources and energy and its integrated resource plan 2019, which sets out the electricity plan until 2030, including the closure of existing power stations, Eskom said. 

As part of this, many of Eskom’s coal-fired power stations come to the end of their operating life between now and 2035.