The Member of the Mayoral Committee for Environment and Infrastructure Services in the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Mpho Moerane, has called on Eldorado Park residents to take ownership of the new substation and ensure that the work is completed.
He was speaking during the walkabout at the Eldorado Park substation earlier yesterday, 8 April 2021. Construction at the substation resumed three weeks ago after delays due to contractual disputes with the previous contractor.
MMC Moerane was accompanied by City Power Board chairperson advocate Lindiwe Maseko, CEO Mongezi Ntsokolo and the City Power executives.
“I’m happy there is progress and that there are locals including SMMEs and local contractors who are part of this project. The project has been delayed for a long time and cannot be delayed any further. The people of Eldos suffered a lot, especially during winter, with the power outages. The old substation, besides being old and frail, is unable to carry enough load to supply the growing community and new developments in the area.
“What the community went through is unbearable. We want to change that with this new substation development. The community must work with us. When we work together with the community, we will do more,” said the MMC.
“When this is substation is complete, the people of Eldos must take pride to have been part of its construction, and the workers must leave a legacy. We want to encourage the community to take ownership of this project and the substation against any threats or vandalism. We have ironed out the issues with the SMMEs and the rest of the contractors. My door is open for any disputes that may arise.
“As the City, we have submitted a budget proposal of R60 million towards finishing the substation in the next financial year starting in July. This is subject to approval by council,” added MMC Moerane.
The existing Eldorado Park substation is one of the oldest City Power substations in Region G of the City of Johannesburg. It supplies electricity to domestic customers in Eldorado Park, Klipspruit, Kliptown, and large power users such as ABI-Coca Cola and other industrial customers in Devland and Eldorado Park, the Nancefield waste treatment plant, the Landfill in Goudkoppies and Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown.
With approximately 3 100 customers connected to its grid, the substation is currently experiencing overloading due to new service connections and a growing customer base. This problem is compounded by the old status of the electrical apparatus that is well over 50 years of age.
This construction project was restarted in March 2021 to address the challenges and ensure reliable supply of electricity. The new state-of-the-art Eldorado Park substation will have four 45 MVA transformers and a new switching and protection technology equipment, when fully built.
Ntsokolo said: “The new technology that will be installed will ensure we respond quicker to outages through remote monitoring. The old Eldorado Park substation does not have a technology to help us detect faults immediately. This delays power restoration during outages. The new substation will be a state-of-the-art, with automation to enable for remote monitoring and switching.”
“Extra capacity that comes with the new substation will enable us to connect new customers, and to cater for growing customer needs. The more we delay the project, the more escalations in cost, and the more interruptions. We commit to the MMC and the chairperson of the board that we will do our best to produce quality product within time and within budget,” said Ntsokolo.
Maseko said: “As the board we will go all the way to ensure this project comes to finality. If it wasn’t for the halting of this project, this substation would be up and running, and the community would be benefiting. We had two wasted years. We are even happy with the involvement of the locals. The partnership with the community, the contractors and City Power is very important.”
Currently, eight SMMEs and 20 local EPWP workers inclusive of a community liaison officer have benefited through employment opportunities that were created by this project.
The value spend on this project for this current financial year is R15 million and it will cover most of the civil work and protection designs. Additional budget for the construction of the new substation will be allocated in the new upcoming financial year. The substation is expected to be completed by the end of June 2022.
End.
For more information contact:
Stanley Itshegetseng
Deputy Director: Communication and stakeholder relations
Office of the MMC – EISD
Cell: 0837024778
