Eskom’s permit to build new gas power plant declared invalid

One of South Africa’s top courts on Wednesday annulled a government permit allowing state utility Eskom to build a large power plant burning natural gas, saying there had not been proper public consultation.

The 3,000 megawatt plant in the east coast port city of Richards Bay is part of government plans to bolster the country’s generation capacity after years of electricity blackouts and pivot away from coal.

“The effect of this order is that the authorisation is a nullity,” the judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal said.

“This will necessitate a fresh application by Eskom for authorisation once the required public participation has taken place.”

The judgment echoes previous rulings against energy companies which failed to properly consult affected communities when seeking permits to explore for oil and gas off South Africa’s coast.

Richards Bay, where the Eskom gas plant would be built, is where South Africa’s first liquefied natural gas import terminal will also be located.

Environmental groups, which had challenged the authorisation granted to Eskom by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, welcomed the appeal court’s judgment.

“Eskom for too long as a state (company) has gotten away with injustices and people that have lived alongside its facilities will suffer from the … high levels of pollution,” Desmond D’Sa of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, one of the applicants in the court case, said in a statement.

Spokespeople for Eskom and the environment department declined to immediately comment when contacted by Reuters.

• Reporting by Wendell Roelf