VANDERBIJLPARK. “The successful increase of capacity at this Currie Town Substation must give meaningful benefit to consumers and residents. By next week, 1 July, we need to be in a position to separate distribution,” said the Executive Mayor of Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM), Hassan Mako.

The office of the ELM mayor said that, the mayor’s directive, on Wednesday, signaled not only the addition of network capacity through the commissioning of a new additional 20Mkv Transformer, but also a strategic reconfiguration of the local electricity distribution system.

The objective is to ensure that the increased infrastructure investment translates into tangible service improvements for residents.

The municipality said that the objective is to ensure that the increased infrastructure investment translates into tangible service improvements for residents and puts an end to perpetual inconvenience to the people.

The instruction to “separate distribution” as per the expressed wish of residents, the municipality said, refers to the reallocation of electrical loads across different bays and feeder circuits within the substation.

The further ELM said that once the new transformer is commissioned, areas in the east of the substation such as CW, NW7 etc, and those in the west side, Muvhango, Bonane, Stephanopark etc, are expected to receive power from different bays, reducing the concentration of demand on a single section of the network.

“This load segregation is intended to strengthen network resilience, improve operational flexibility, and reduce the impact of faults or maintenance activities. By supplying the affected communities through separate distribution paths, the municipality can better manage demand, limit the extent of outages when disruptions occur, and create opportunities for more targeted switching operations.”

Residents have long expressed concerns over recurring electricity interruptions.

It is said that the residents have long expressed concerns over recurring electricity interruptions, and the reconfiguration of supply arrangements is being positioned as a practical step toward enhancing reliability and restoring public confidence in the municipality’s electricity network.

“If implemented within the stated time frame of July the 1st, the new transformer and associated distribution changes could mark an important milestone in strengthening Emfuleni’s electricity infrastructure and improving the quality of service experienced by households and businesses in the affected areas.”