The electricity minister’s attack on Komati signals a new phase in the war for our energy future. And so far, nobody has connected the dots.

His comments, disingenuous as they are, signal the opening public salvo in what promises to be a fierce battle over our plans for the just energy transition, with the future of Camden, Grootvlei and Hendrina — the three power stations that will be gradually shut down over the four years to 2028 — now in play. Like Komati, the life of these power stations cannot be extended, they cannot be made environmentally compliant, and their operating costs are ballooning as maintenance and coal become ever more expensive. But there are political mouths to feed in the coal value chain, though more of that later...

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