City of Tshwane MMC for Utility Frans Boshielo photo by Dimakatso Modipa
MMC for Utilities in the City of Tshwane Frans Boshielo says there is no electricity crisis in the City of Tshwane but only challenges in this regard.
He said the new ANC-led administration in the City of Tshwane is looking at ways and means to resuscitate the Rooiwaal and Pretoria West power stations which are currently inactive so as to augment electricity supply and in this regard a task team has been established.
He said electricity supply will be sourced from “mixed generation” and power stations.
“We have to go to the market and get people who will be able to help us reactivate the two aforesaid power stations,” said Boshielo.
He said the Rooiwaal power station is envisioned to generate 300 megawatts while the Pretoria West power station is envisioned to generate 180 megawatts.
“In our budget for the City of Tshwane we have allocated more money towards the maintenance of electricity infrastructure; which is something that was neglected by the previous DA-led administration and our plan is to stabilise all electricity substations that keep on tripping; we have identified them and we are going to refurbish them,” enthused Boshielo.
“Another issue that is crippling us is the illegal connection of electricity and we are working with law-enforcement agencies in the City to disconnect those illegal connections,” he said.
Boshielo revealed that a programme called “Electricity For All” is in the pipeline and that the programme is aimed at connecting all informal settlements with electricity because at the moment informal settlement dwellers are stealing the City of Tshwane’s electricity but with this ” Electricity For All” programme they will pay for the electricity that they are using and this will increase the Municipality’s revenue.
He further indicated that the City of Tshwane intends confronting the issue of cable theft and vandalisation of electricity infrastructure by using static as well as technological security measures.
“CCTV cameras and beams will be installed at critical electricity infrastructures,” he said.
He pointed out that the previous DA-led administration misplaced the task team of actualising the energy agenda in the Tshwane Economic Development Agency (TEDA) and the energy department will now take on the task of implementing the energy agenda.
He said the task team will enlist the services of “a transaction advisor” who will help with modalities that must be implemented to make sure that the two power stations, (Rooiwaal and Pretoria West) are reactivated.
He admitted that the City of Tshwane has delayed in reactivating the said power stations.
“There are various methodologies of generating electricity and we have looked at several studies in this regard,” said Boshielo.
He appealed to all concerned residents of Tshwane to help the Municipality in safeguarding electricity infrastructure and that several private companies have also come forward in helping the Municipality to safeguard electricity infrastructure and revealed that car manufacturing company BMW is helping the Municipality in safeguarding electricity infrastructure in the Rosslyn area by installing cameras and motion detectors.
Regarding the possible removal of residents who are occupying land illegally and have connected electricity illegally from the reservoir that is situated by the mountainside in Mamelodi East, Boshielo said the following:
“It is difficult to remove those people because they have been staying there for a long time now and regulations dictate that whenever people are removed them an alternative place where they can be relocated.”
Asked whether the City of Tshwane has obtained an eviction order to remove the said illegal dwellers, Boshielo saud he was not sure about this matter.