Coast week reported that Greenpeace Africa this week urged the South African government to push national power utility Eskom to increase investment in renewable energy.
In a new report, the advocacy group said South African communities are at risk of losing access to water due to huge reliance on coal.
The state controlled Eskom is currently directing its investment to new coal fired power stations, the Medupi and Kusile stations.
The report entitled 'The Eskom factor: Power politics and the electricity sector in South Africa' reveals that Pretoria is projected to experience a 17% gap between water supply and demand by 2030.
Greenpeace Africa climate and energy campaigner Ms Melita Steele said that "The truth is that in the face of looming electricity price hikes, and a ZAR 13.2 billion net profit recorded by Eskom this year, local communities in coal areas may lose their water rights to make way for mines, to help feed Eskom's coal addiction."
She said Greenpeace calls on Eskom to stop building new coal fired power stations, and instead invest in the substantial rollout of large scale and decentralized renewable energy projects. She added that "It is time to hold Eskom and the South African government accountable for the decisions being made today, which will affect all of our futures. South Africa's continued reliance on coal goes to the heart of whether we can keep our taps running with clean water."
The report says Eskom is the only strategic water user under the National Water Act, which means that the Department of Water Affairs has to provide it with water. The problem is that in one day, Eskom uses enough water to grow almost a million kilograms of maize, due to its reliance on coal. It added that "If there were a drought, water might have to be taken away from other users."
Greenpeace Africa communications director Mr Fiona Musana South Africa coal power stations, the Medupi and Kusile will push up Eskom' water usage considerably in the next decade. The impact of new coal fired power stations on a future water crisis hasn't been adequately taken into account.
According to the report, South Africa's current electricity system is geared to supply energy intensive industries, and building new coal fired power stations to keep the lights on means catering to big business, at the expense of the 12.3 million South Africans without access to electricity.
