Phalatse vows to stabilise Joburg power supply
Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse says a stable supply of electricity is one of the items on top of her to-do list this year.
Phalatse delivered her maiden State of the City Address on Thursday morning.
Unreliable power supply, brought about by ailing infrastructure and worsened by persistent load shedding, is a constant source of frustration for residents of the country’s economic hub.
She said the city of Joburg will host an energy indaba in May.
"To stabilise electricity supply in the city, MMC (for environment and infrastructure Michael) Sun led the approval of the city's sustainable energy strategy in January.
"To support this work, the multi-party government will be hosting and energy indaba in the month of May, gathering all relevant and related stakeholders for their collective input into resolving Johannesburg's energy crisis, a move which will see us introducing an energy mix, partnering with Independent Power Producers and small-scale energy generators, reducing our reliance on Eskom, and ending these rolling blackouts.
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"In the meantime, City Power has extended its power purchase agreement with Kelvin by 24 months, maintaining security and reliability of supply to our customers currently supplied by the Kelvin Power Station."
Fleurhof, which is one of the worst-affected areas in the city, will soon have a new substation.
Phalatse said the construction of the substation in the area is nearing completion.
"The construction of the Fleurhof substation is almost complete. This substation will supply power to units that are yet to be electrified in Fleurhof and surrounding areas."
