What Komati can teach us about the “just” transition

By Koketso Mamabolo

In the Place of the Rising Sun is a small town which has seen the sun set on a significant chapter of modern South Africa. A few years ago the residents around the Komati power station suddenly found themselves as the test subjects of a global project to secure our future. While Mpumalanga is home to the bulk of the country’s power stations, Komati is significant because it has brought to the fore the link between energy and empowerment.

Going green

The research is clear: South Africa is heading towards extreme events like drought, heatwaves and heavy rainfall. These events will be devastating, making it harder to end poverty, unemployment and food insecurity. Infrastructure will decay, incomes will be reduced, the cost of living will go up, and inequality will widen.

While it may not seem like it, South Africa is a well-resourced country. But climate change threatens to change that. Rural areas and the biodiversity economy have much to lose. In agriculture, for example, millions of smallholder farms face greater risk than their commercial counterparts. Job losses in the sector, a significant employer, would have enormous knock-on effects for rural communities.

The marginalisation of the rural population has been a problem for the government since the dawn of democracy. The National Development Plan sought to address this with ambitious goals which are still as relevant today as they were more than a decade ago. By 2020, according to the plan, rural economies “will be supported by agriculture and, where possible, by mining, tourism, agro-processing, and fisheries.”

All of those sectors are affected by climate change. There is great potential in the socio-economic impact of eco-tourism but this may not be realised. A study on the Kruger National Park, for example, found that it will see 4% less visitors by 2050 just because of extreme weather.

South Africa finds itself in the awkward position of being both victims of climate change and notable contributors. The bulk of our carbon emissions come from electricity generation, dominated by Eskom.

This is where renewable energy comes in with its potential to bring us to the green, low-carbon future we envision. We are in the midst of a transition, what is meant to be a ‘just; transition, and South Africa is perfect for exploring how to give meaning to the ‘just’ part.

A key player in the shift to green energy is the IPP Office which has a two-part mandate. The first is to “enhance private sector participation in electrical power generation capacity.”

The second part speaks to its role in contributing to national development objectives. Its most important initiative is the Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme which has attracted billions in private capital.

The economic development impact figures from the third quarter of 2025 are encouraging: B-BBEE spend was sitting at R122.7-billion; 38.6% of shares were held by black people; 9.2% of shares were held by local communities; R4.6-billion was spent on socio-economic development and ESD programmes.

While the addition of new, clean generating capacity and the empowerment figures are welcome, the plume stacks of Mpumalanga still loom large.

Energy meets empowerment

Eskom’s Generation Continued Operations (GCO) shutdown plan involves reducing coal capacity significantly over the next 50 years. Between 2029 and 2030 it will be reduced by 8 GW, followed by another 15 GW between 2034 and 2042. Eskom has committed itself to a “responsible, inclusive, and sustainable” process.

According to the Integrated Resource Plan 2025, as Eskom prepares “for this shift, the utility is focused on repurposing and repowering several coal-fired power stations to support cleaner energy solutions.”

Repowering stations with cleaner technologies has already begun at Hendrina, Arnot, Camden, and Grootvlei. So the environmental safeguards are being put in place. What about the socio-economic safeguards? What about Komati, which was shut down in 2022? What about the people of Komati?

In a 2024 study, researchers from the University of Johannesburg found that residents in Komati had concerns over “job security, livelihood, well-being, community development and energy provision.”

The researchers acknowledged that there are very few studies which have looked at the societal impact of the energy transition.

“To be just, a transition must provide an atmosphere that encourages businesses, employees, investors, and consumers to support and drive the transition to ecologically sustainable and inclusive economies and societies.”

The study showed that the transition process failed to include the people in the area surrounding the power station. Community members were either against the decommissioning of the station or were unaware of plans and discussions about it.

Similarly, the Presidential Climate Commission’s report on the decommissioning of the Komati power station found that engagements with the community fell short of what was required, that the scope of the transition was too narrow, the timing was off, and that more collaboration is needed between stakeholders.

Efforts to address these shortcomings are already underway. The Komati Just Energy Transition Community Engagement and Interventions and Co-Creation Project (K-JET CEICC) offers a model on how going green can be coupled with development. Funded by IKI JET in collaboration with Just SA, the project is implemented by Indalo Inclusive South Africa NPC.

“Structured awareness” and co-creation workshops resulted in five enterprises being established. Led by the community around the closed power station, the enterprises are involved in “integrated crop farming, water purification, eco-briquettes, and sustainable textiles.”

“The project is responding directly to calls for procedural justice, local economic diversification, and inclusive participation in just transition processes.”

K-JET CEICC brings NGOs together with local, provincial, and national government, including the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, the Presidential Climate Commission, and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

The methodology is described as an “asset-based community development approach” which considers what the community has to work with rather than what it lacks.

“It follows a structured four-stage process: awareness and exposure; innovation and co-creation; ownership and testing; sustainability and impact.”

Through the project 150 residents of Komati now have climate and just transition knowledge. For them the sun has not set yet, it has only begun to rise.