

Chapter 6



ENERGY

The present situation

The process of making electricity causes greenhouse gases and acid rain. Burning wood and coal in homes causes air pollution. Cars, buses, trucks and taxis all produce air pollution from their exhausts. Because of this, if we want to protect our air, we have to be very careful about how we plan and use energy.

Many countries in Europe and the USA in the past twenty years have cut down on how much energy they use. We have not done this in South Africa. This is because we are still using old methods of production. We have not started finding ways to save energy. This is because energy is still given to some industries very cheaply. This means they use a lot of electricity, and this causes more air pollution. It is also because sanctions stopped us from learning new methods from other countries.

Because of sanctions, the old SA government decided we should be able to produce all our own energy. They started projects to make petrol, gas and nuclear power. Under  apartheid , white areas had electricity, but many of the black areas didn't. Two out of three people don't have electricity in their homes. Poor families in towns and in the rural areas use wood, paraffin or coal. Many trees in the rural areas and around poor communities have been chopped down for wood. Women have to walk further to collect wood each day. Smoke from wood and coal fires causes pollution inside the house. This can cause chest illnesses.

Most of our energy in South Africa comes from coal. A small amount of our energy comes from oil, wood and nuclear power. We have a lot of coal in South Africa. We sell about one quarter of our coal to other countries. A lot of coal is used to make electricity. Quite a lot of coal is used for cooking and heating in homes.

Large areas of land are dug up to get the coal out of the ground. In order to sell our coal more easily to other countries, we clean it first. This leaves large piles of useless waste behind. Sometimes these piles of waste start burning. This adds to acid rain.

The combination of electricity power stations, coal mines, and heavy industry in the Eastern Transvaal is causing acid rain in that area. This is damaging the local ecosystems (Figure 6.1). This is very worrying because about half of our good farming land is in this area. This land could be damaged by the acid rain.

SASOL also has bad effects on the environment. It uses a lot of water and produces a lot of waste. But they have spent a lot of money studying how to re-use their water. They are also studying how to make coal that makes very little smoke.

In South Africa, we do not have good, cheap public transport. We use private cars, taxis, buses and trucks. We need a public transport system that will cut down the number of cars on the roads. This will cut down air pollution.

Electricity for industry

Industry in South Africa pays very little for electricity. This helps us to produce goods more cheaply than some other countries. This helps us to sell these goods to other countries. But, at the same time, this price does not cover the full cost of producing electricity from coal. It does not include the cost of the damage being done to the environment and to people's health by air pollution and acid rain. The acid rain is caused by sulphur getting into the air from power stations. Eskom says that it is too expensive to change the power stations to stop the sulphur getting into the air.

Giving cheap electricity to industries does not make them try to save electricity. In other countries industries have had to find ways of using less electricity in order to save money. This has cut down on the amount of air pollution produced.

Where is energy produced and how is it used?

SASOL makes oil from coal. We have one nuclear power station at Koeberg (the only one in Africa). Mossgas was built in 1987 to make petrol from natural gas.

Three companies, ESKOM, SASOL and Iscor use nearly all of the coal used in South Africa. Eskom uses nearly two thirds of the coal.

ESKOM is looking at how to encourage people to use less electricity. It has also found a way to use less water in its power stations. This is very important because South Africa does not have much water, and we must protect our water from pollution.

The Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs are working to make a low-smoke coal. They hope that by the year 2000 everyone will be using low smoke coal instead of ordinary coal. Also, the RDP programme of putting electricity into everyone's houses should cut down on the pollution from burning coal. In rural areas, it is planned to plant trees for firewood.

Policy issues for the new government

1.  The new government must make sure that the following issues are dealt with:

(i) the lack of clean, cheap and environmentally friendly energy in poor urban and rural households

(ii) the wasteful use of electricity in industry because of its low price

(iii) too much use of coal to make electricity, in industry, and in poor households. This causes air pollution.

Coal mining can damage and pollute the land, and

(iv) whether industries such as Sasol, Mossgas and Koeberg should continue. The government must look at how much they cost to run, and how much damage they do to the environment.

These issues agree with the RDP.

2.  The government must make sure that poor families, schools and hospitals, small black farmers and rural businesses can get electricity or other kinds of clean energy. For example, families should be able to get low-smoke coal. Better design of houses means they will stay warmer in winter so that families use less coal or electricity to keep warm. The government must also make sure that there is enough wood in rural areas. They must set up projects to grow trees for this. The government must also make sure that people in the rural areas can buy paraffin. Energy from the sun (solar energy) can also be used to make electricity for lights, to heat and pump water, and for other uses in homes and businesses.
3.  It will cost a lot of money to make sure that all South Africans have proper energy and electricity to use. The government should stop giving money to industries like Mossgas and SASOL. They should also make those people or industries who can afford it pay more for electricity. This money can be used to make sure poor and rural families can get electricity, wood, paraffin or low-smoke coal. ESKOM should encourage families and industry to save electricity
4.   The best way to use less electricity is to make industry, businesses and rich families pay more for it. But the government must make sure that changes in the price of electricity do not affect poor families badly.
5.  Most of our coal is used to make electricity. This causes air pollution, acid rain and greenhouse gases. These pollution problems could be made less by cleaning the smoke before it goes out into the air. But this is very expensive. The government must decide whether this should be done. In the future, new power stations must be built to use the best methods for producing electricity. They must be built so that they do little damage to the environment. The government must look at using coal, gas, water and other systems to produce electricity, and decide which is the best.
6.   Low smoke coal, solar energy, better housing design, and better stoves can all cut down pollution inside houses.
7.  The government must investigate whether we should carry on producing oil through Sasol or buy it from other countries.
8.  The government must look at different ways of producing energy. For example, wind can be used to make electricity. India has set up large wind generators. Studies show that some places in South Africa might be good for wind energy. Industries and local government could pay less tax if they used wind energy. The government could put a tax on petrol and electricity made from coal. This money could be used to pay for research on new ways of making electricity from renewable resources. Rural communities can plant and manage woodlots for firewood, with government support.

Recommendations

Many of our recommendations agree with those in the RDP.

- Electricity should be put into all schools, homes and hospitals as soon as possible. Wealthier families, and those who have had electricity for a long time must pay more to cover the cost of putting in electricity to poorer homes. Poorer families should be able to say how much they can afford to spend on electricity each month. They should pay this amount at the beginning of the month. They would only be allowed this much electricity during the month. This would help them not to use more electricity than they could pay for. Eskom should look at giving loans to families to buy fridges and stoves that do not use a lot of electricity.
- The government must look at combining different kinds energy for use by poor families and in rural areas. This includes planting trees for firewood, planting trees and crops together, better design of houses, using the energy from the sun for lighting, radio, TV, pumps and water heating; selling paraffin and low-smoke coal; and better stoves.
- Many households use coal for heating and cooking. A national program should be started to make and supply low-smoke coal, as proposed in the RDP. This would reduce the environmental and health impacts from coal use.
- The state should stop giving money to support Mossgas, SASOL and Koeberg.
- The costs of electricity (and other energy sources such as wood and coal) must include the cost of damage done to the environment. In the long term, burning coal to make electricity is damaging the environment. The country will pay the cost of this when the land is no longer producing good crops, or trees are dying.
- The government must look at how much it would cost to stop the pollution from ESKOM power stations. They must look at how much damage will be done to the environment if we don't stop the pollution. They must decide whether to put in the machinery to stop the pollution or not. All new coal power stations must clean the smoke before it goes out into the air.
- The government must look at the best ways to produce electricity in the future. They should look at using coal, nuclear power, hydro power, and natural gas. They must also find ways to use less energy and electricity.
- The government must look at the best and cheapest way to get petrol and diesel. They must look at whether we should buy oil and petrol from other countries. This may be cheaper than trying to make it ourselves. Paraffin should be cheap so that poor families can afford it.
- The government must look at how much petrol and diesel are used, and for what. In the past this information was kept secret. They must look at how much petrol and diesel we will need in the future, especially for transport.
- The government must set up an independent inquiry into the environmental and safety record of the Koeberg nuclear power station. The results of this enquiry should help the government to decide whether to close Koeberg or not.
- The government must look at whether there is any reason for keeping the industries open which make fuel for Koeberg. It seems that the best and cheapest option is to close them. The people working at these industries must be retrained for use in other industries. Some of them could be used to study how to make electricity from clean, renewable sources. The government must decide whether the Atomic Energy Corporation should continue, or whether it should be changed in some way.
- The government must find out what kind of energy is used for what purposes in South Africa. We need this information for each province, and for local areas. This information can be used for better planning in the future.
- The government should spend more time and money on research into renewable energy. They should look particularly at solar and wind energy, and planting trees for firewood. We should learn from other countries, and make their project fit the South African environment.
- The government must use less energy and electricity in its work. It must use cars and trucks that use less petrol. This is an important leadership role for national and provincial governments.





