A R55m power cable ‘error’

A R55 million, high-voltage cable project installation in Ekurhuleni has been called out as potentially dangerous.

A concerned resident, who is also a qualified high-voltage cable engineer, said the job was being half-done. This could also dramatically shorten the life span of the 132 000-volt cable ring around Benoni.

“There is no doubt it will fault-out well before its sell-by date,” said cabling expert Peter Mueller.

He has been laying power cables for two decades and said the new cable, which replaces an oil-cooled predecessor, has the potential to serve the community for at least 40 years.

“But the manner in which it is being installed means it could melt down anytime – from six weeks to a couple of years.”

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The cable must be buried in a trench of at least 1.2m-1.5m deep

Mueller said the cable, laid in a set of three, must be buried in a trench of at least 1.2m-1.5m deep.

It must also be laid on a bed of heat-conducting bedding sand as the high- voltage power that surges through these veins generates an enormous amount of heat. “But there is no bedding sand in these trenches,” said Mueller.

He said the depth of the cables was also questionable – it was less than a metre deep in some places. The construction of a similar underground cable system in Kempton Park looks vastly different.

There, said Democratic Alliance (DA) energy spokesperson Simon Lapping, bedding sand was used, timber support was installed to secure the stability of the ditches and the depth of the trenches was deeper.

Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the project’s contractor was competent. “The competency was determined through the selection process at the tendering phase. “This was accomplished by evaluating the service provider’s previous experience on similar projects,” said Dlamini.

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