Cape Town - As the debate rages on and polarises his Cabinet about the need to tackle the electricity crisis by lengthening the life of coal-fired power plants, President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved to re-affirm commitments to reduce carbon emissions by 2030 and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Ramaphosa’s council of Eskom ministers – Electricity Minister Kgosientso Ramapkgopa, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe – are reportedly bickering about political powers around the power utility as the country stands on the precipice of a collapsed grid.
According to weekend reports, Ramakgopa, in a Cabinet meeting, among other suggestions, argued for the extension of the life of coalfired power stations, which put him in direct collision with Gordhan and Mantashe.
Ramakgopa’s coal-fired power stations proposal stands in contrast with the conditions set out by France, Germany, UK, US and EU in their Just Energy Transition Partnership with South Africa, and the loan attached to the deal.
“As we intensify our efforts to address the electricity shortfall, we remain committed to reduce our carbon emissions through a just transition,” Ramaphosa said in his newsletter.
He said “intensive work” was being done to reduce load shedding by improving power stations’ performance.
Ramaphosa said the pace to unwind older coal-fired power stations is one of the issues that has been “widely” discussed.
“South Africa has committed to reduce its carbon emissions by 2030 to within a target range which, at its upper level, is compatible with limiting global temperature increase to 1.5ºC.”
He said the government will stick to this commitment to stave off the worst effects of climate change, ranging from droughts, to floods and other disasters.
Ramaphosa said: “We also need to protect jobs in sectors of our economy that have to decarbonise to remain globally competitive. However, the manner in which these commitments are achieved must not compromise energy security or the immediate priority of reducing load shedding.
“In some cases, it may be necessary to re-examine the time frame and the process of decommissioning or mothballing of coal-fired power stations temporarily to address our electricity supply shortfall.
“Few would argue that we should close down power stations even as we experience load shedding. A number of countries in Europe that had decommissioned or mothballed their fossil fuelled power stations are recommissioning them to address the current energy shortage as a result of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.”
He said “re-examining” the time frames is “not a reversal of our position on the just energy transition”, and this had been done by other countries, without deviating from their long-term move to renewable energy sources.
“Any decision on decommissioning will be informed by a detailed technical assessment of the feasibility of continuing to operate older plants,” Ramaphosa said.
He said the decision would also be informed by the time frame in which the government can expect new capacity from other energy sources and the impact on the decarbonisation trajectory.
“The health and environmental impact of emissions from coal-fired power stations also needs to be considered,” Ramaphosa added.
He said government’s position is “clear and principled” in that it’s doable to prioritise the country’s immediate energy needs without putting at risk climate commitments. He encouraged investment in new renewable electricity generation.