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The Arnot coal-fired power station operated by Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. is located in Mpumalanga province. , Bloomberg

Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. is the world’s largest emitter of sulfur dioxide pollutants. The company stated that it would cost more than R300 billion (US$20 billion) to retrofit about half of its coal-fired power plants with pollution reduction equipment and increase The cost of electricity.

The state-owned South African utility company stated that it has applied for an exemption for the power plants it plans to shut down in 2030 from complying with national emission limits, and has requested that its six power plants operating after 2030 be increased. The two newest plants, the so-called flue gas desulfurization equipment, have been installed in Kusile and will be retrofitted in Medupi.

"Except for Medupi and Kusile, Eskom's power stations were built when there was no legal requirement to install sulfur dioxide reduction technology," the Johannesburg-based company said in an inquiry on Wednesday.

This week, Eskom was named the world's largest producer of pollutants by the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research (CREA), which are linked to diseases ranging from asthma to heart disease. Although South Africa reduced the allowable sulfur dioxide emissions from 3,500 milligrams per standard cubic meter last year to 1,000 milligrams, this limit is a multiple of those imposed by other major coal producing countries such as India and China.

"The implementation of flue gas desulfurization at sites operating after 2030 should consider the return on investment and balance the positive and negative impacts on the environment and polluted communities," Eskom said.

If this technology is currently the only technology that can be used to reduce pollutant emissions to the current emission limit, if the six factories that will be operated after 2030 are transformed, the cost will increase by 5.9 billion rand each year, requiring an increase of 7 % To 10% of electricity prices, Eskom said. It also stated that the company's annual water consumption will increase by 59 million cubic meters and an additional 9.7 million tons of waste will be generated.

Nonetheless, other major sulfur dioxide emitters—China, India, the United States, and the European Union—have cut emissions in recent years by shutting down coal-fired power plants or installing equipment.

Although Eskom produced 1,600 kilotons of pollutants in 2019, the current annual output of all power plants in China is only 780 kilotons, which is lower than the 13,000 kilotons in 2006.

Eskom disputed a study linking its emissions to more than 2,000 deaths each year, although it stated in 2019 that its pollution caused 320 deaths each year. 

The utility company’s debt exceeds 400 billion rand.

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