Pretoria - Tshwane MMC for Utilities and Regional Operations Daryl Johnston visited the Wapadrand substation at the weekend to monitor the refurbishment of the facility.
In March, the City of Tshwane announced a R134 million refurbishment project, saying it would bring an end to recurring electricity outages.
It is a three-year project described by the metro as being still at a very early stage.
Johnston said at this stage the old substation structure had been demolished, and preparations were under way for the necessary civil works.
“I also engaged with the contractor on the project plan, including long lead items, and I am very satisfied with the progress so far,” he said.
Johnston said the electrical and water networks are being made a priority through the draft Integrated Development Plan and budget.
Wapadrand Substation and future projects such as the Pyramid, Mooikloof, Kentron, Rosslyn, Kosmosdal and Bronkhorstspruit substations are some of his key priority projects.
“We have 41 electrical projects in the draft budget for the 2022/23 financial year, and I will visit these project sites and provide updates to residents on the work the City is doing.
“These projects will ensure an improved and stabilised network. Providing communities with a reliable supply of electricity is important,” he said.
Johnston also said there was a lot of work to do, as they have an ageing network that had been neglected for far too long.
However, Johnston said, with the progress at the Wapadrand site and the work being done at other projects across Tshwane, he knew they were on track to rebuild utility infrastructures to a state that would support the capital city and its residents.
The City said the scope of work would take place in four phases and includes demolishing the existing building that was damaged by fire last year, constructing a new substation building to house three 11 kV panels, installing a 35 MVA transformer, relocating supply cables to the newly built substation and constructing a guardroom.
The substation will be completely redesigned in terms of modern design technology that will also include a number of safety aspects that did not exist before.
During the oversight visit, Johnston was joined by Ward 85 councillor Jacqui Uys and members of the Wapadrand project steering committee.
Uys said the substation distributed electricity to approximately 80 000 people. It suffered two complete burnouts since July 2018, leaving the community without power for 6-14 days each.
“They also experienced various small panel burns in the substation that left power off for two to three days at a time, and a vast number of smaller outages.”
She said the rebuilding of the substation would not only add to stabilising electricity to residents from the Wapadrand feed area but also to residents in greater parts of the city from the far east to the north as far as Pyramid Substation.
Pretoria News