Residents from Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s Ward 36 have welcomed the development of a new electricity substation in their ward which will boost stable electricity supply and accommodate planned future housing development in the fast- growing area.
During an oversight inspection of the construction site on Thursday, 1 February 2024, NMBM Electricity and Energy Mayoral Committee Member, Cllr Zanele Sikawuti briefed the excited residents about the project. Construction is set to start on Monday, 5 February 2024.
This comes after extensive consultation meetings were held between the Municipality and various stakeholders including residents and business sector.
Sikawuti who was joined by Ward 36 Cllr Khanyisa Mani during the site inspection, said due to the rapid growth in the area of Joe Slovo West and planned future development in the area, the construction of the substation was necessary.
“The site for this substation was established many decades ago for future developmental expansion within the NMBM area. However we had to finally prioritise and deliver on this long outstanding matter to give dignity to our people. Due to the rapid and recent construction of housing in the surrounding areas, which are currently fed electricity from Redhouse and San Souci substations, the construction is necessary in order to relieve Redhouse and San Souci substations of load outside of their design areas, to add more housing units in the surrounding area, and to provide back feed options to the Redhouse and San Souci loads.”
“The project might be in ward 36 but it will certainly not only benefit this ward, residents from as fat as kwa Magxaki will also be connected to this substation. We are happy that it is finally happening, starting with phase 1 on Monday. It is a three- year project, with a total of R15million budgeted for this current financial year. This substation is designed for an initial firm capacity of 31,5 Megavolt-amperes and with an ultimate firm capacity of 63 Megavolt-ampres,” MMC Sikawuti said.
The major components of the project are:
- Civil Designs and Construction.
- Medium Voltage Switchgear (Already procured)
- Installation of Electrical Equipment with Control and Protection Panels (Mostly already procured)
- Power Transformers.
Resident Fiyane Matini said: “It’s an exciting time for us as residents, this project will bring employment opportunities over the three-year period. We are happy that we will benefit from this and ultimately, we will get sustainable electricity supply as we sometimes get power outages and can go for days without electricity. We have committed ourselves to work with NMBM to ensure we also play our part to safeguard this project as any delays will affect us directly.”
The project will be built in phases, the first being the civil works and this phase is scheduled for completion in June 2024, weather permitting.
The second phase will be the construction of the outdoor plinths and installation of all high, medium and low voltage electrical equipment. As well as the high voltage powerline connection. This will take approximately 12 to 18 months to complete. A large portion of this equipment has already been procured and is ready for installation.
The last phase will be the procurement, delivery and installation of the power transformers, followed by final commissioning and hand-over. The phase will take an estimated 6 to 12 months.
NMB Communications
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