Cape Town: City Energy teams visited to sites in Maitland and surrounding areas to assess the damaged electricity infrastructure and to monitor progress on the Medium Voltage infrastructure maintenance and upgrade programme.
Medium Voltage (MV) electricity infrastructure refers to the systems that distribute power from substations to large residential, commercial and industrial areas. These networks play a critical role in the electricity distribution chain and are crucial in ensuring grid stability and reliable electricity supply to residents and businesses.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Energy – Alderman Xanthea Limberg stated that they are executing the city-wide MV maintenance and upgrade programme. This reflected the ongoing commitment to a reliable electricity grid, and they will continue to invest in the infrastructure.
The City of Cape Town has undertaken MV work to the value of R1.3 million in Maitland, in this financial year. These investments have immediately improved the quality of electricity supply in the area and is preventing unplanned outages. This work forms part of the broader three-year R4 billion grid infrastructure upgrades as the teams intensifies their efforts to accelerate work in Maitland and across all areas of the metro.
Limberg further stated that the Energy Safety Team and City Law Enforcement continue to be visible in all hotspot areas. Also, they called on residents to stand with them against vandalism, theft and illegal connections.
In addition to this, the City of Cape Town is exploring high-tech anti-theft and vandalism solutions as the scale of the destruction on the assets cost the City over R62 million in the last financial year. Often the damage is so extensive that entire pieces of infrastructure and even neighbourhood grids must be replaced, which takes time and resources as well as inconveniencing communities and businesses.
The sustained investment in High Voltage, Medium Voltage, High Mast and community streetlighting infrastructure extends the life of the critical assets. More importantly, it guarantees that the residents continue to receive reliable electricity services.
Furthermore, the City has spent approximately R62 million in the past financial year on electricity infrastructure maintenance and replacement. Protect Your Power is a first-of-a-kind campaign, which highlights the massive impact of vandalism, theft, and illegal connections that leave the communities, neighbourhoods, and roadways in the dark.
The City is calling on all residents to help them Protect Your Power and build safer, brighter communities by reporting any suspicious activity anonymously to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre (PECC).