By: Natasha Archary
Eskom has warned South Africans to brace for Stage 8 loadshedding. This after the Department of Environmental Affairs rejected the power utility’s application for pollution exemptions.
The National Air Quality Officer has rejected the pollution exemptions at both Medupi and Matimba power stations.
This means Eskom will lose up to 16 000 megawatts of generating capacity.
While the power utility will contest the decision, this mean Stage 8 loadshedding is a probability for the country.
During Stage 8, consumers are without power for almost 12-hours a day.
Speaking to eNCA Eskom senior manager, Deidre Herbst said the application for the exemption has been on-going over the past few years.
“We’ve been engaging with authorities for quite a few year, trying to find a sustainable and balanced approach. The most challenging part to meeting the minimum emission standards is that they’ve applied new plant limits to existing plant. Which means we have to retro-fit existing plant with very expensive pollution reduction technology.”
Deidre said the impact of the decision means Stage 8 loadshedding will be a continuous outcome for the country as a result.
The decision was rejected due to the health implications further pollution will have in Limpopo. More pollution will impact the air-quality standards.
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