COMMUNITIES DESCEND ON ESKOM SAYING NO TO
NUCLEAR & YES TO RENEWABLE ENERGY
28 September 2016. Durban,
South Africa. South Durban community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) its allies
from UBUNYA BAMA HOSTELA, communities of Sydenham , Phoenix, Umlazi , Klaarwater, KwaMakhutha, Merebank and
Wentworth took Eskom head on today
saying no to the secretive plans to build nuclear energy and yes to investing
in renewable energy .
Over 200 hundred community
members participated in a placard demonstration stating the ‘trillions of rand’s’
earmarked for the nuclear build could be better spent on providing free access
to tertiary education for the poor. The songs and slogans on the placards vividly
spoke volumes, calling upon President Zuma, the Minister of Energy, Ms Joemat
Peterson, and the CEO of Eskom, Mr Brian Molefe, to be open and transparent about
the development of nuclear and coal-fired enrgy production. There should be no
secrecy and withholding of information.
The constant hike in
tariffs, which most effects the poorest of the poor, is of grave concern, often
leading to disconnections. The development plan of building coal fired power
stations is harmful to human health and the environment. The proposed nuclear energy and lack of
commitment to renewable energy - will
only exacerbate the financial crisis, especially for the poor and marginalized.
This energy crisis we face daily with regular disconnections and the increasing
deterioration of the health of people living alongside these coal fired power
stations is becoming more and more impossible to deal with. The high tariff
increases, lack of consultation, unsustainable energy practices and lack of a
vision by our government and the parastatal ESKOM is resulting in an everyday
struggle of ordinary people of our beloved city and country at large.
The main objective of the
protest was to also raise the following issues and community concerns with Eskom. Firstly renewable energy
for the people. The commitment to renewable energy should be achieved soon
and prioritized ahead of the procurement of new fossil fuel or nuclear options,
which are expensive, hazardous, and dirty. Secondly, we strongly oppose any nuclear deal and
we call for an open and transparent discussion with all stakeholders. Eskom and
government should be looking at increasing investment in renewable and
sustainable energy sources . Thirdly, Coal fired stations have a
significant impact on human health and our scarce water resources, which
contributes enormously to the climate crisis that affects all human, living species
and plant life on the planet .
Eskom’s lack of compliance with air quality standards and numerous
legislative requirements for its coal fired stations (as recorded in the
Department of Environmental Affairs’ annual National Environmental Compliance
and Enforcement Reports [1]) aggravates these impacts, consistently violating
constitutional rights to an environment not harmful to human health and
well-being. Lastly, Eskom and government lack of transparency.
A memorandum was handed
over to Eskom’s management. The memorandum had a list of all the demands from
the south Durban members. The demands were as follows:
·
Stop
all Nuclear development and use the funds for renewable energy
·
Eskom
management must invest in programmes to provide a substantial amount of
renewable energy, including subsidies to incentivize low-income people’s
purchase of the long-promised millions of solar hot water heaters.
o
Eskom
must allow Municipalities to invest in Renewable energy
·
Eskom
meaningfully engage with the people of South Africa to develop an alternative
energy plan that does not lead to the burden passed onto the poor and destroys
the environment for the present and future generations.
·
Eskom
and the South African government must stop investing in fossil fuels
·
South
Africa must not invest in nuclear energy and put this investment in tertiary
education for the youth.
·
Eskom
meaningfully engage with the people of South Africa to develop an alternative
energy plan that does not lead to the burden passed onto the poor and destroys
the environment for the present and future generations.
·
Raise
the free basic electricity amount to 200 kWh per household (Currently 50 in
most places. In eThekwini it is 65 for those consuming less than 150 kWh/month)
to ensure affordability of energy for the poor.
·
Electricity
providers take meter readings every month (As done for water) as estimates are
often over-estimated and consumers are penalised if they cannot pay on time
People must be able to read their meters
Foot
note:
Our Demands:-
·
Eskom
must meaningfully engage with the people of South Africa to develop an plan for
the provision of sustainable energy that does not lead to the financial burden being
passed onto consumers, especially the poor, and destruction of the environment
for the present and future generations.
·
Eskom must stop any further investment in fossil
fuels (this applies equally to the South African government)
·
Eskom
must not enter into any deals or contracts for nuclear power supply without
public scrutiny or approval.
·
Eskom
management must instead invest in programmes to provide a substantial amount of
renewable energy, including subsidies to incentivize low-income people’s
purchase of the long-promised millions of solar hot water heaters.
·
Eskom
must expand and not limit the Independent Power Producer network &
renewable energy production, especially in localized rural communities.
·
Eskom
must allow Municipalities to invest in renewable energy
·
Eskom
must make public a plan and its commitment to meet the national targets and
standard for carbon/toxic emissions within specified timeframes.
·
Where
it is the provider of retail services, Eskom must raise the free basic
electricity amount to 200 kWh per household to ensure affordability of energy
for the poor.)
·
Electricity
providers take meter readings every month (as done for water) as estimates are
often over-estimated and consumers are penalised if they cannot pay on time.
People must be able to read their meters.
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