South African Just Transition Pathway- Lessons Learnt from The Komati Power Station Decommissioning and Repurposing Project

Abstract

After more than 50 years in operation, Eskom contemplated the idea of decommissioning Komati Power Station in 2017. In 2018 the process of decommissioning Komati began and in 2022 funding amounting to US$497 was sourced from the World Bank to support the decommissioning process. The aim of this article is to present an independent view of the closure and transition at Komati Power Station. A particular focus of this investigation was to find out the extent to which the process and early outcomes at Komati met the principles of justice (procedural, distributive, restorative), as set out in the country’s Just Transition Framework (JTF). In that regard the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) adopted a qualitative approach in its investigations which came in the form of engagements and consultations with various stakeholder groups. Data was collected from Eskom, workers, labour unions, community members, and other relevant stakeholders. One of the key aspects unravelled from the investigation was the flawed communication processes. Communities and workers pleaded for greater transparency in terms of information sharing from the government. It is this information gap that led to questions regarding procedural justice during the decommissioning process. Closely linked to the challenge concerning communication processes was the lack of climate literacy among the affected communities.  In order for people to perceive that there was procedural, distributive and restorative justice in the decommissioning of Komati they needed at least to understand the reasons behind the transition. Climate literacy was therefore critical in that respect. Based on the study's findings, it is thus recommended that climate change educational initiatives should be implemented to assess the pre-program conditions of impacted areas, since these have a significant impact on the program's learning outcomes. For future similar projects the project also recommended that: large scale projects should not be conceptualized on a narrow scope but should broadly consider economic aspects such as diversification beyond the project scope to help the communities who depended on these projects; inclusive participatory processes involving affected communities should precede future decommissioning projects in line with the tenets of procedural justice; communities and workers should be informed in time (preferably many years before the process starts) and appropriate empowerment measures should be developed for them to cope with a change of such magnitude. An inter-governmental and multi-stakeholder approach is required to design and oversee effective transitional projects.

Keywords: decommissioning, repurposing, community participation, procedural justice, economic diversification, stakeholder engagement.

DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/16-5-05

Publication date: June 30th 2024