The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality recently carried out upgrades close to R22 million at the Kaalfontein Substation in Kempton Park to ensure stability on its network.

The upgrades will boost the supply to residents in the Esselen Park and Kaalfontein area. New housing developments in the vicinity and the electrification of houses which previously had no supply by the municipality had begun to place a burden on the system.

Now the newly upgraded substation will supply power to close to 10 000 residential households and 50 businesses.

“It is projected that the substation will provide sufficient capacity in the area for the next 20 years to cater for the planned developments that will be carried out,” says Ekurhuleni spokesperson Themba Gadebe.

Similar projects of upgrading equipment to meet customers’ power supply needs are underway, and are estimated to cost the municipality a total of R75 million in the 2015/2016 financial year.

Below is the budget allocation for the areas that will receive upgrades:

•             Crystal Park, Benoni – R5 000 000
•             Alrode, Alberton – R10 000 000
•             Eden Park, Alberton – R10 000 000
•             Esther Park, Kempton Park – R20 000 000
•             Germiston North, Germiston – R10 000 000
•             Mayfield, Benoni – R20 000 000

In maintaining existing infrastructure, the Metro encourages community members to report power interruptions immediately to allow the Metro to deploy qualified technicians to attend to the problem.

Residents should also report any suspicious activities such as breaking into substations or tampering with the municipality’s electrical infrastructure.