Proposed substation will end Glenwood outages
Blackouts could be a thing of the past in Glenwood soon after the proposed new substation goes ahead.
NUMEROUS power outages which plagued the greater Glenwood community on and off throughout the year could soon be a thing of the past if the proposal to build a new high voltage electricity substation goes ahead.
Newly elected ward Councillor Nicole Graham was happy to break the news to residents this week. “The eThekwini Municipality is planning to build a new high-voltage electricity substation on the vacant plot on the corner of Bulwer and Clark Roads, opposite Glenwood Community Church,” she said.
Graham said the new substation, was necessary due to the poor state of the current old station near St Augustine’s Hospital, which is responsible for many of the blackouts that happen in Glenwood.
John Horne, chairman of the Glenwood Community Forum, who is also the pastor of Glenwood Community Church said the construction of a new substation would definitely alleviate the intermittent blackouts which have created problems for residents and businesses alike in the area.
However, commenting as pastor of the Glenwood Community Church, he said the building of the substation would be a huge blow to the church. “We hire the property from council on a special lease and use that vacant plot as parking for our services and also use it to train kids in development soccer, on a Wednesday. We are a constantly growing church and losing our additional parking will seriously hamper our operations, because parking in the area is already a nightmare,” he said.
“I understand the need for this but have concerns of the environmental implications it may have,” he said.
Horne said he hoped another site might be looked at in the area for the substation.
Meanwhile Graham said plans were to have the substation largely housed within buildings, and enclosed by a high boundary fence. “There are safety measures in place to ensure that risks are kept to an absolute minimum. In terms of the new government regulations, this does not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) or a public participation process,” she said.
However, any residents who are concerned or require more information can e-mail councillor Graham on ward33@ethekwini.org. She is happy to arrange a public meeting with officials if there is sufficient public interest.
I would expect the City to be sensitive to lessees’ needs and have consulted the Church already with a very reasonable solution, but such is the Caring City.
However, substation aside, I wonder if the Councillor is going to call 083-271-3721 to get a postal and physical address at which to issue a fine for illegal advertising.
And whether she has alerted the City Signage Department to this infringement.