City of Tshwane implements load reduction

The City of Tshwane has confirmed that it has started implementing load reduction in Soshanguve. 

The load reduction is implemented between 18:00 and 22:00 daily in areas that are supplied by the Soshanguve 132/11kv substation. 

CITY OF TSHWANE IMPLEMENTS LOAD REDUCTION IN SOSHANGUVE 

The metro municipality said inclement weather has resulted in a sharp increase in electricity demand and the available grid is unable to cope with the strain. 

“The move to implement load reduction in Soshanguve was informed by the current status of the 132/11kv substation which is experiencing power overload as a result of illegal connections,” the City of Tshwane said. 

Here are the affected areas:

Wednesday – Block S and X

Thursday – Block R and KK

Friday – Block T, V and R

Saturday – Block KK and R

Sunday – Block W, R, X, X-Buffer A and B

ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS ARE THE MAIN CONTRIBUTING FACTOR

The City of Tshwane said it will embark on an aggressive campaign to disconnect illegal electricity connections in Soshanguve as they are the main contributing factor to the grid overload. 

Furthermore, the metro municipality asked residents to report illegal connections. 

“The option of load reduction has an advantage to consumers in that it prevents extended and unplanned power outages, which could last for days, as the electrical protection schemes are bound to trip if overloading is not managed. It also saves the city from incurring unnecessary costs which might come as a result of extensive damages to the substation,” the municipality said. 

In addition, the City of Tshwane defended its decision saying due to the vulnerability of the substation mentioned earlier, it had two options; to either leave the feeders to trip on their own (this would have resulted in two secondary substations being off and 80% of Jukulyn losing power) or to allow the region to manage the load reduction.

City of Tshwane technicians will monitor the performance of the grid and may increase or reduce the number of areas affected when it becomes necessary.

“The city will communicate the following week’s load reduction schedule every Friday to keep the affected consumers updated at all times.”

CITY POWER CONCERNED ABOUT INCREASED ENERGY DEMAND

At the weekend, Johannesburg City Power announced that it would implement load reduction from Monday, 10 June.

The entity said load reduction will be implemented during peak times from 6:00 – 10:00 and 16:00 – 22:00 in high-density areas and suburbs concerning usage levels that threaten to overload the electricity equipment.