City Power has stated that electricity will be installed in various informal settlements, including Ebumnandini, Matholesville, Rugby Club (Roodepoort), Tshepisong and Princess.
According to City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, in a recent budget, the City of Johannesburg allocated a three-year capital budget of R2,9 billion towards electrification of informal settlements, rollout of new public lighting, upgrading the existing ageing network and substations as well as expanding check meters at intake points from Eskom.
“City Power is continuing to better the lives of Johannesburg residents in both affluent and informal settlements by investing millions to ensure that all residents in its areas of supply have access to safe electricity,” Mangena said.
He also said, “With R200 million allocated to electrification of informal settlements for 2019/ 20, plans are underway to electrify about 6 000 dwellings in Ebumnandini, Kliptown, Matholesville, Meriting, Rugby Club (Roodepoort) and Tshepisong, among others, as well as improving the electricity supply to about 42 000 dwellings in Alexandra, Kya Sands, Princess and Tshepisong, among other areas.”
There are about 200 informal settlements across the City of Johannesburg, and a total of R45 million was spent on electrifying 630 dwellings around the city of Johannesburg in the 2018/ 19 financial year.
Mangena stated that supplying safe electricity reduces illegal connections as some dwellers illegally connect themselves to nearby townships, thereby increasing the risk of electrocution and overloading the system. The electrification of informal settlements will improve City Power’s revenue collection which has been struggling. It will also reduce electrical and non-electrical losses, and improve the security of the electricity supply.
This means that residents will no longer depend on other sources of fuel such as braziers, paraffin stoves or candles to provide light, to heat their homes or cook. It also means that school children will no longer do their homework in the dim light of a candle. This project is a huge benefit to local businesses as well as the community at large, as their lives will be changed for the better.
“As City Power employees, we come to work with one mission, which is to change people’s lives,” said City Power CEO, Lerato Setshedi.
“Electrification of informal settlements is central to changing the lives and material conditions of the poor. This is aligned to the sustainable human settlements priority of the City of Johannesburg. Our work is to ensure we improve the quality of life of our people by ensuring we make electricity accessible to them. When we electrify informal settlements, we improve township economy, and the quality of life. We also restore people’s dignity. That is important,” Lerato added.
Electrification of informal settlements is part of the City of Johannesburg’s efforts to ensure all residents have access to basic infrastructure services like electricity and water.
City Power urges residents to visit their nearest customer care centre to find out how much free basic electricity they qualify for and what process to follow in order to qualify for free basic electricity after their homes have been electrified.
