State-owned power utility Eskom has applied to postpone the date by which sixteen of its power stations have to comply with the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (AQA) minimum emission standards, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) confirmed on Tuesday.

The DEA explained that while Section 59 of the AQA provided for any person to apply for exemptions to provisions of the Act, it was clear that no exemptions could be granted from a provision of Section 22, which pertained to the Atmospheric Emission Licence, among others.

However, the Section 21 Notice of the AQA presented an opportunity for any operator, including Eskom, to submit an application for the postponement of the compliance time frames to the National Air Quality Officer at the DEA.

The postponement of the compliance timeframes could be granted for a period of five years per postponement, and Eskom had been advised to explore this regulatory opportunity to address this matter.

Eskom’s applications covered its Matla, Duvha, Arnot, Kendal, Komati, Hendrina, Kriel, Tutuka, Majuba, Grootvlei and Camden power stations, in Mpumalanga, as well as Medupi and Matimba, in Limpopo, Acacia in the Western Cape, Lethabo in the Free State, and Port Rex in the Eastern Cape.

The DEA stated that it was committed to ensuring that the Constitutional rights of South Africans to an environment that was not harmful to health and wellbeing were always taken into consideration, while simultaneously ensuring that economic growth was not hampered.

Eskom's power stations currently had to meet existing plant standards by April 1, 2015.