Eskom has applauded the National Air Quality Officer’s decision to allow the company a deferral in
terms of the Minimum Emission Standards (MES) pertaining to the levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2)
emission at the Kusile power facility.

Eskom also took note of and commended the Nkangala District Municipality for granting Kusile an
updated Atmospheric Emission Licence (AEL) to reflect this postponed decision.

“The postponement… means that Eskom will be able to operate the three units without the use of
the Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) plant, which is equipped with emission-abatement technology
for SO2, for a period of up to 31 March 2025, while the flue gas ducts in the permanent stack are
being repaired,” Eskom said on Saturday.

The postponement was granted on 5 June 2023 and the licences were issued on 13 June 2023.
The repairs to the ducts in the permanent stack will be completed by December 2024.
“This comes after the failure of the Unit 1 flue gas duct on 22 October 2022. The failure at Unit 1
subsequently affected Units 2 and 3, as the ducts for all these three units are in the same stack
(chimney).

“As previously communicated, the temporary stack structures for Unit 3 will be completed by
November 2023, and for units 1 and 2 by December 2023. This will enable the return of 2 100MW,
further alleviating pressure on the power system and reducing load shedding by two stages,” Eskom
said.

The adoption of steps to lessen the impact of SO2 emissions on air quality is one of numerous
conditions that must be met for the postponement and licence.
Eskom declared that it would abide by the terms of both the Atmospheric Emission Licence and the
MES postponement.