South African state power utility Eskom said pollution from its coal-fired plants that supply more than 80 percent of the country’s power kills about 330 people a year.
The figure, which Eskom drew from its own research, contrasts with a number of independent reports that put the figure at between 650 and 2 000 people a year. Environmentalists are protesting over plans by Eskom and the government to possibly slow down the pace of planned closures to alleviate power outages that are crippling the economy.
The company had planned to retire 11 300 megawatts of coal-fired power generation, or about a quarter of its capacity, by 2030. A report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air last month issued a report saying suspending those plans could lead to 15 000 additional deaths. – Bloomberg