Eskom’s constant load-shedding at high stages impacts City infrastructure negatively. Although the City has many contingency measures in place, there are limits to what is possible at the moment.
Load-shedding hammering electricity infrastructure
The City’s maintenance and management of its electricity network remains top notch, however the infrastructure takes a hammering due to the constant Eskom load-shedding at high levels. The damage to infrastructure often leads to prolonged outages and increased service requests. Sometimes, pockets of areas are excluded from load-shedding for a period in order to do critical maintenance work, which has to happen.
Secondary tripping
In addition, there are outages resulting from secondary tripping. This happens when the electricity comes back on after load-shedding. However, due to electricity returning at the same time in a particular pocket, the power often trips and shuts off again. Hence one would experience this as power coming on, and a few minutes later, it is off. To help reduce the occurrence of this, residents are advised to switch off electrical appliances ahead of load-shedding to prevent secondary outages.
Under the cover of darkness: Illegal connections and electrical cable theft/substation damage
Illegal connections and damage to infrastructure can also lead to outages. Non-stop load-shedding at high stages leaves infrastructure vulnerable. The City monitors hot spot areas but residents are encouraged to report any incidents of theft, vandalism and damage to infrastructure to the City and the South African Police Service.
The City offers a reward of R5 000 to anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest, confiscation of stolen or illegal goods or the handing in of illegal or stolen goods. This reward is also applicable to information leading to the arrest of people vandalising, damaging or stealing electricity infrastructure or installing illegal connections.
Public Emergency Centre
021 480 7700
Report damage to municipal electrical infrastructure:
• SMS: 31220
• Email: power@capetown.gov.za
When not even UPSs can bring relief
Nearly 75% of signalised intersections on the City of Cape Town’s road network is equipped with Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) systems. This is 1 228 of the City’s 1 652 traffic signals. Unfortunately, the UPS batteries do not have sufficient time to recharge when Eskom implements non-stop Stage 4 load-shedding or above.
• Road users are reminded to treat intersections as four-way stops when the signals are out.
• Please report continuous outages to our 24-hour Transport Information Centre on 0800 65 64 63.
Impact on water and sanitation services https://bit.ly/3BD3KjF
• Sanitation Services
Despite contingency measures such as (mobile) generators and telemetry systems at our sewer infrastructure, with severe load-shedding i.e. large areas without power, it is not logistically possible to prevent sewer overflows entirely, in which case the operational teams do their utmost to contain and clean up such flows.
• Water Services
The City is calling on everyone to temporarily reduce our collective water use to 850 million litres per day.
This will help deal with operational challenges, notably due to heavy load-shedding and weather conditions, which are impacting our water treatment plants and ability to pump water to reservoirs and areas across Cape Town. Be assured that tap water is still safe to drink, and dams are over 70% full. See: https://bit.ly/3j4fEga
What residents can do to help:
• Use water wisely and use less water so that we can conserve storage in our reservoirs. www.capetown.gov.za/savewater
• Only flush toilets and do washing when really necessary. This will help reduce pressure on the sewer network and wastewater treatment works.
• Don't flush anything other than human waste and toilet paper. See www.capetown.gov.za/blocked-sewers.
• Use the City’s solid waste services provided to get rid of your waste, not drains. Waste that gets into the sewer pipes will block them and put pressure on and damage pump stations and wastewater treatment works (WWTWs).
• Report sewer blockages and overflows so they can be cleared in a reasonable timeframe, given the current power situation.
Tips
Be prepared
Communication: Ensure that your cell phone, laptop, tablet and radio are always fully charged when power is available. This will allow you to be able to communicate with friends and family during load-shedding
Transport: Make sure that your vehicle always has fuel in the tank as most petrol stations are unable to pump fuel during power outages
Cash: Keep some cash on you as ATMs cannot operate without electricity
Security and safety: Backup batteries for electric gates, garage doors and security systems should be kept in a good working condition and be able to last through periods of load-shedding. Store temporary lighting such as battery-powered torches, gas lamps and candles in places where they will be easy to find in the dark
Eating: If you do not have a gas stove, prepare meals before the power is scheduled to be switched off. Boil water in your kettle and keep it in thermos flasks for hot drinks. You can also use an insulating cover on teapots, pots and pans to keep drinks and meals warm
Medication: Most medication requiring refrigeration can be kept in a closed fridge for several hours without spoiling, but you should check with your doctor or pharmacist if in doubt
Traffic lights: Intersections with traffic lights that are not working because of load-shedding should be treated as four-way-stops. The motorist who stops first may proceed first if the way is clear and safe to do so. Please stay calm and follow defensive driving techniques
Avoid power surges and nuisance tripping: If you know that your area will be affected by load-shedding, switch off appliances, geysers, pool pumps, air conditioners, lights and other electrical equipment to reduce the risk of damage caused when the power comes back on.
Be energy-wise
• Switch off those appliances that you don’t need
• Turn down geyser temperature to 60° degrees Celsius
• Delay switching on lights and appliances until after the peak periods (between 17:00 and 21:00) whenever possible
• Adjust air conditioners to 23 degrees Celsius if you need to use them
Visit
www.SavingElectricity.org.za
www.capetown.gov.za/loadshedding
Source: City Of Cape Town