Power to the people that need it
FOURWAYS - IN reference to the article, Sub-station boom, week ending 26 July, it outlined Eskom's investment of more than R60 million in the Fourways, Paulshof and Sunninghill substations due to the increase in development in the Fourways, Paulshof, Sunninghill and Waterfall areas.
Eskom’s Brian Maseko explained that the “growth of malls, complexes and residential estates in the area placed a large demand on the power supply.”
It should be noted that upgrading substations and related infrastructure does not in any way assist with meeting the demand placed on our electrical supply by large scale development. Our nation is in a state of crisis of low electrical supply, evidenced by the constant messages to switch off geysers and appliances when not in use. While this is good practice from a resource conservation point of view, it does not appear to apply to the rampant over-development that is allowed to take place in the form of large scale retail centres, luxury housing estates and industrial and business parks that are destroying valuable open space.
In communities such as Diepsloot many residents do not have access to a safe electrical supply and have made illegal and unsafe connections into the electrical grid to meet their most basic needs.
While these large scale developments continue to put stress on our supply it increases the threat of load shedding and collapse of our electrical system.
Surely it should be a priority to ensure that the basic needs of all citizens are met first, before pushing forward construction projects based primarily on commercial gain.
