Abstract:
The aim of this paper was to quantify the external
costs of mining and transporting coal to the Kusile
coal-fired power station in eMalahleni. Monetary
values were estimated for a number of impacts
including its contribution to climate change, human
health effects of classic air pollutants, mortality and
morbidity, impacts of water pollution and water
consumption. The results of the study disclosed that
coal mining and transportation will inflict costs to
both the environment and humans of between
R6 538 million and R12 690 million per annum,
or between 20.24 c/kWh and 39.3 c/kWh sent out.
The external effect of water consumption (opportunity
costs of water) constitutes over 90% of the total
cost, followed by global warming damage costs and
ecosystem services lost due to coal mining. The estimated
externality cost is approximately between
50% and 100% of the current average electricity
price.
