City Power contractors have been working hard at several substation boxes in the Blairgowrie area to upgrade the electricity infrastructure to alleviate the use of fuses and transfer to the use of circuit breakers over the past few weeks.
“We are lucky that we are one of the few wards that can get something like this done. We have noted many incidents where cables and fuses have been stolen after substation boxes were broken into. The fuses sell for quite a lot of money, so by eliminating their use, an element of crime is reduced,” said the Blairgowrie Community Association’s Harold Fleishman.
Stolen infrastructure leads to several power outages in the area, and replacement of stolen infrastructure can take ages. Old cables and fuses get removed and brand new cables and circuit breakers are installed that are less prone to theft.
BCA chairperson Jed Kemery said that the residents association’s close relationship with the City helped to develop a solution to the issue in the space of less than a year.
“I think it is lovely that the City and our ward councillor have responded to our calls to sort this problem out, and relatively quickly at that. Our electricity portfolio committee has a great working relationship with the City, and a drive to sort problems out constructively,” said Kemery.
Ward 102 councillor David Potter said, “We are thankful that the City is converting fuses to circuit breakers in their substations. Fuses are prone to theft which causes major problems with the consistent supply of power.”
He added that City Power still needs to implement a proper plan of securing their substations.
“The current lock specification is ridiculous, and the locks are easily broken open. This has been addressed at length with City Power by ward councillors. I have correspondence dating back to 2013 about the poor locking mechanisms that City Power still uses today,” concluded Potter.
The Randburg Sun has contacted City Power for their comment on the locking mechanisms.
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