Tshwane municipality defends grid integrity amid festive season blackouts

The Tshwane municipality has said ageing infrastructure is a “minor contributor” to the recent power outages that have plagued parts of the capital. 

Three of the municipality’s substations have caught fire in the past week.

One in Olievenhoutbosch through vandalism and two in Koedespoort through electrical faults. 

The DA in Tshwane has blamed the current political administration for not having a plan to address the city’s ageing electricity infrastructure. 

Tshwane spokesperson, Selby Bokaba said “the ageing infrastructure is a minor contributing factor because we do regular maintenance at those areas but this requires a lot of budget. It’s not only about electricity but also bulk water infrastructure because the lifespan of these facilities is 40-years and they have been stretched for over 40-years and some of them are not coping especially with tampering and vandalism.”