R50m earmarked for upgrade at power substations

THE Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is pumping R50-million towards the renovation and maintenance of two electricity substations in Uitenhage, for the provision of a more reliable power supply.

Residents in the area have suffered a number of power cuts due to faulty substations.

The municipality said yesterday unreliable power in Uitenhage would soon be a thing of the past.

Work was under way to refurbish the Nivens Drift and Mabandla substations, which supply Uitenhage and KwaNobuhle.

“This project will guarantee a reliable and safe electricity supply to the affected areas,” municipal spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki said.

“It will add significant capacity in the western areas of Uitenhage for additional electricity demand in wards 45, 48, 46 and 47.”

At the Mabandla substation, in KwaNobuhle, more than R10-million would be spent on refurbishing medium voltage switchgear.

“This work will drastically reduce the number of faults on the system, which frequently cause electricity outages in the area,” Mniki said. Work on the project would end in June next year. Infrastructure, electricity and engineering head Annette Lovemore said too many power outages took place in the metro, and the municipality was determined to rectify problems.

“Our level of power outages is still too high, particularly in Uitenhage, Despatch and the northern areas. We are determined to bring the level of power failures down to the absolute minimum.”

The use of solar energy and other forms of powergeneration were being considered to supplement the existing supply.