Cape Town - Woodstock’s R9 million underground electricity cable project is nearing completion, with the final tarring being carried out on a number of roads.
The project, which started in July, saw more than 9 000m of overhead cable as well as 104 transmission poles removed and replaced with 18 000m of underground cabling and infrastructure in the area.
This aims to reduce the incidence and risk associated with the vandalism of electrical infrastructure and to upgrade infrastructure for greater efficiency. As part of the project, 78 new light-emitting diode (LED) street lights and an 800-kilovolt ampere (kVA) mini-substation were installed in the community.
The City’s mayco member for energy, Beverley van Reenen, said that the final tarring would be completed in the coming days.
“Underground cabling infrastructure has significant advantages over the older overhead electricity supply infrastructure, such as being less vulnerable to damage from the weather and trees, less likely to be vandalised by criminals, less likely to be damaged by motor vehicle accidents, as well as being more attractive for the residents of Woodstock and surrounding communities.
“The City thanks its teams, contractors and the Woodstock community for working with us during this project,” said Van Reenen.
“The City is investing significantly in the upgrading and maintenance of its critical supply infrastructure around the metro,” she added.
“This year, the City also achieved 96.86% of its R1 billion capital budget spend for the 2022/23 financial year, which shows our dedication to service delivery to our communities.
“Our teams will continue to monitor and protect critical infrastructure in all areas, especially the identified hot spots, and we urge residents to be our eyes and ears in our fight against theft and vandalism of infrastructure,” said Van Reenen.
The City has also recently extended the deadline for commenting on the Woodstock, Salt River and Surrounds Local Spatial Development Framework (LSDF) and called for more people to comment.
The comment deadline has been running since September 11, 2023, and is being extended to February 15, 2024, to allow for further input on the draft. The process was initiated by community groups in Woodstock who have remained involved, as this process was community-initiated.
The plan will inform future decision-making on development and allow the community vision to be a key consideration in future development and spatial planning.
“Approximately 130 people have commented so far, through a combination of five open days, surveys and emails. The document and projects identified for further investigation are a reflection of these community inputs,” said the City’s deputy mayor and MMC for spatial planning and environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
“The LSDF highlights the community’s visions about what is important to conserve or develop in the study area,” he said