Strain on Randpark substations

After a spate of extended power outages in the area after weeks of load-shedding, Ward 134 councillor Wendy Alexander writes:

Over the past few weeks, Randpark Ridge has experienced a higher than the normal number of power outages and for extended periods of time often lasting days on end. These power outages are largely due to the effects of load shedding.

The ‘on and off’ power supply from Eskom’s side has resulted in a number of faults at the Beyers substation, which feeds the Randpark Ridge area. The ageing infrastructure cannot handle the abuse of load shedding.

Eskom load-sheds the City of Johannesburg and other municipalities around the country when it needs to stabilise the power grid. Eskom cannot afford to let the grid go down completely. The outcome would be catastrophic.

The questions we should be asking is why is Eskom in this state? We have heard it all before, but the fact of the matter is that very little has changed over the past few years to alleviate this issue. Eskom has neglected to maintain its infrastructure, has poor management and unstable coal supplies and these issues are only scratching the surface of the problems currently been faced by the power supplier.

Though many of our residents pay City Power for their electricity, City Power is a distributor of power, they do not produce the electricity themselves.

City Power is 100 per cent reliant on Eskom for power, this is because at the moment Nersa prevents any other entity from producing electricity outside of the Eskom structure. This legislation needs to be reviewed and amended immediately.

As a city and a country, we cannot be held hostage by Eskom, it adversely affects business, peoples’ quality of life and all but stalls the country’s economy.

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