Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe
Moeletsi Mabe/Sunday Times/Gallo Images
- Komati power station has been touted as a flagship for the just transition and secured funding from the World Bank for this purpose.
- But Minister Gwede Mantashe has criticised the transition to renewables at the plant as not being “just” given the amount of job losses.
- Jobs at the plant reduced significantly after its decommissioning, said Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane.
- For climate change news and analysis, go to News24 Climate Future.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has claimed that the transition to renewables at Eskom’s Komati power station in Mpumalanga is not “just”.
“It is an energy transition. ‘Just’ doesn’t qualify at Komati in terms of the number of jobs destroyed and the number of jobs created, the megawatts destroyed and those created. In all aspects, it is not a just energy transition. It is an energy transition,” Mantashe said.
He was speaking at the Presidential Climate Commission’s quarterly meeting on Friday. Mantashe is among the commissioners who were briefed by Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane about the province’s progress in implementing just transition initiatives.
The economy of Mpumalanga is dominated by the coal sector, mining and power generation. It accounts for 80% of coal production by volume. Twelve of Eskom’s 15 power stations are located in the province.
Komati is one of these power stations. It had its first unit commissioned in 1961. The coal-fired power plant had nine units, each with a capacity of 100MW or collectively close to 1GW.
As the plant reached the end of its life, Eskom decommissioned the last unit in October last year.
But Eskom’s just energy transition office, led by Mandy Rambharos at the time, had started a project to give the plant a second life – this time producing power from renewables such as 150MW solar combined with 150MW of battery storage and 70MW of wind.
In order to make these changes happen, funding of $497 million (R9 billion) was approved by the World Bank last year. The World Bank has said the project, if successful, could be a “blueprint” for a just energy transition in South Africa and beyond.
READ | World Bank approves funding for R9bn plan to repurpose Komati power station
Eskom also entered into training partnerships with Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre in order to help the power utility reskill communities to find jobs within the renewable energy industry.
But Mantashe said, based on his department’s analysis, the Komati transition project is not a just one. “Justness was not applied,” he said.
Mtshweni-Tsipane noted the substantial job losses. “We have lost quite a substantial number [of jobs]. There were about 1 700 people there. Today we are talking about 174,” she said.
There appears to be a discrepancy in the job figures available publicly.
Eskom’s senior consultant on climate change and sustainable development, Beauty Mazibuko, told News24 that Komati previously employed 661 people, 237 of whom were permanent employees. According to Eskom, it currently has 150 permanent employees on site.
News24 understands that figures of close to 2 000 may be linked to casual workers who find work at the plant during maintenance shutdowns.
Eskom is yet to respond to News24’s request for comment. The article will be updated should comment be received.
New industries
Mtshweni-Tsipane, at the meeting, implored stakeholders to work together to create new industries in the economy to allow communities to continue to earn livelihoods.
According to the World Bank’s latest fact sheet on the project, part of the financing, $47.5 million or R890 million, is to support new economic opportunities for communities and workers. This includes community development projects, skills training, incubation support for new businesses and creating jobs in areas like agriculture, local manufacturing and digital technology.
“These activities are expected to benefit approximately 15 000 people, including Komati workers receiving transition support.” The success of this initiative depends on collaboration between local government, civil society and the private sector.
With Lisa Steyn