Kosmosdal substation upgrade has benefitted the community
The newly upgraded power substation has eased the burden of available capacity.
The R65-million spent on the upgrade of the Kosmosdal electricity substation is money well spent, the Tshwane metro has said.
Speaking to Rekord, city spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the new capacity of the substation has enabled new development and therefore boosted the local economy.
“Yes, the substation has created additional capacity to accommodate new development growth in the area. This has a direct impact on economic growth as well as job creation,” Mashigo added.
He said the increased capacity helped in dealing with the constant power outages that could be blamed on over-loading during peak hours.
“The substation will reduce power outages specifically attributed to load problems.”
MMC for Utilities and Regional Operations, Daryl Johnston said the upgrade has reduced the load.
“The upgrade has certainly brought a positive impact specifically for commercial customers, who made financial contribution to facilitate the project,” Johnston said.
He said that the substation wouldn’t be able to address the general power issues in the area.
“Kosmosdal upgrade won’t address general power issues in the surrounding areas”
Local businessman Deon Scheepers told Rekord that he hasn’t experienced any power outage since the upgrade.
“We haven’t experienced any power outages since the Kosmosdal substation was upgraded,” he said, adding that his business was doing great in the current economic circumstances.
“We have had reliable power in our area since the upgrade, and business is booming. The only interruption we have is when there’s load-shedding”.
The upgrade was a joint effort between private developer, Growthpoint Property group and the Tshwane metro.
The substation was launched by Tshwane mayor Randall Williams, Johnston and MMC for Economic Development and Spatial Planning André le Roux.
At the time, Williams said the upgrade increased capacity from 20MVA to 40MVA, at a cost of R65-million.
“The project was triggered [necessitated] by a 20MVA new bulk electricity application from private developer, Growthpoint, for its proposed data centre development in the area,” he said.
“Working together, the metro began the upgrade of the substation in February last year until the completion of the project on July 12.”
He said the upgrade would enable development of the centre, economic growth and job opportunities in the area.
Johnston said the Kentron substation in Centurion was next in line for an upgrade.
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