Infrastructure development is one of the key programmes that Mogale City Municipality is undertaking. Their aim is to remedy the unequal distribution of infrastructure of the apartheid years.
The City is investing heavily in infrastructure development to meet the demands of a growing economy and population. One such project is the refurbishment of the Condale substation along the Condale road opposite Rhodes Food Group.
The City currently is engaged in a multi-million rand development project geared at increasing the capacity of the ageing substation.
According to the Energy Services Department manager Frikkie Erasmus, the upgrade is done because the substation no longer can accommodate the increased demand for current and future growth.
“This substation is older than 50 years and far beyond its original useful life expectation of 30 years. The old equipment no longer complies with the specifications of the National Regulator and the SA Bureau of Standards,” Erasmus says.
He says the substation currently receives capacity of 160MVA from Eskom and the upgrade must increase capacity to receive 240 MVA. The project costs in excess of R100 million and is expected to be completed in the 2014/2015 financial year.
The new substation will provide electricity to the entire Krugersdorp area and proposed new development nodes such as the Pinehaven corridor and the R28 Randfontein nodal corridor. It will improve the quality of supply on the entire network.
The other identified areas include the accommodation of new densification initiatives from private developers, improved supply to Munsieville and new developments in and around it, as well as improved supply to Delporton Industrial area and the new Percy Steward waste water treatment plant.
“The only way to allow economic growth is by providing infrastructure that also will create new job opportunities. Therefore it is good value for money – without the upgrades the electricity network will continue to have brownouts and blackouts.”
The recent load shedding that Mogale City experienced during the winter season was due to Eskom’s constrains in terms of supply capacity on a national level.
Erasmus says if Mogale City does not upgrade the distribution network, load shedding on municipal level will be unavoidable and more disastrous than the Eskom load shedding programme.
