Tshwane Substations burning and ANC/ActionSA coalition government still not prioritising electricity infrastructure
Tshwane Substations Burning: Why the ANC/ActionSA Coalition Government Still Isn't Prioritising Critical Electricity Infrastructure
The smell of burnt insulation and the darkness of unplanned power outages have become the grim signature of Tshwane's critical infrastructure collapse. As major substations across the municipality continue to suffer catastrophic failures—often involving intense fires and explosions—residents are left demanding accountability.
This escalating crisis exposes a deep-seated failure in municipal management. Despite being governed by a fragile ANC/ActionSA coalition, the necessary funding and long-term strategic plans required to prevent these disasters are visibly absent. The narrative is clear: political instability is trumping service delivery, leaving Tshwane's power grid in a state of terminal decline.
For the residents, this isn't just about inconvenience; it's about existential dread. Business owners watch their livelihoods fade, while families face medical emergencies with no reliable power source. The consensus is that the coalition government is failing to grasp the gravity of the situation.
Blackouts and Broken Promises: The Human Cost of Tshwane's Infrastructure Neglect
The latest substation fires—from key metropolitan hubs to industrial centres—are not isolated incidents; they are symptomatic of years of deferred maintenance and critical infrastructure budget neglect. When a major transformer blows, the damage extends far beyond the physical station.
Take, for instance, the experience of Mrs. Zama, a small business owner in Centurion who runs a refrigeration supply service. "When the last substation went down, we were off the grid for 72 hours straight," she explains. "We lost R45,000 worth of stock. Load shedding is one thing, but this is incompetence. We pay our rates, yet the city offers no protection against these complete shutdowns."
This feeling of abandonment is widespread. Tshwane citizens are experiencing 'non-scheduled load shedding' far worse than Eskom's national constraints. This hyper-local power crisis is exclusively the fault of the municipality's failure to maintain its aging assets.
The list of operational failures resulting from poor infrastructure is staggering:
- Widespread food spoilage in households and restaurants.
- Traffic chaos due to non-functioning robots, leading to increased accidents.
- Water supply interruptions because pump stations rely on stable electricity.
- Increased security risks during prolonged periods of darkness.
- Damage to sensitive electronics due to voltage fluctuations during restarts.
The cycle is vicious: aging equipment is overloaded, often due to illegal connections or system stresses exacerbated by poor maintenance. The equipment fails spectacularly, leading to expensive, drawn-out repairs that drain municipal resources, leaving less money for proactive preventative maintenance.
Experts consistently point to a massive funding deficit. The capital expenditure (CAPEX) required to bring Tshwane's grid up to a reliable standard runs into the billions. Yet, year after year, the electricity infrastructure budget is prioritized below political expediency and short-term fixes.
The Political Gridlock: Funding Deficits Under the ANC/ActionSA Watch
The current instability in Tshwane's municipal governance, characterized by the uneasy ANC/ActionSA coalition arrangement, has created an environment of policy paralysis. Crucial long-term decisions regarding infrastructure investment are perpetually delayed, politicized, or outright ignored.
The City Council frequently engages in highly publicized debates about executive appointments and political grandstanding, while the actual nuts-and-bolts of service delivery suffer. The issue of substation reliability has become a political football, with both major partners blaming the "previous administration," regardless of whose turn it is to lead the utility department.
A central problem is the massive maintenance backlog. Independent engineering reports have indicated that many primary substations—some operating since the 1970s—are running decades past their anticipated lifespan without adequate refurbishment. These assets are ticking time bombs.
Under the current coalition, there has been insufficient political will to enforce effective revenue collection. This directly impacts the municipality's ability to fund necessary infrastructure upgrades. When large government departments or state-owned enterprises within Tshwane fail to pay their electricity bills, the city's ability to invest in asset renewal is crippled.
Furthermore, internal reports suggest a significant lack of skilled technical personnel. Many experienced engineers have left the municipal employ, taking crucial institutional knowledge with them. This brain drain means that even when funds are allocated, there is often a shortage of qualified staff to execute complex refurbishment and preventative maintenance programs efficiently.
Critics argue that the coalition's focus remains squarely on crisis management rather than preventative planning. They wait for the next fire to break out, rush emergency contractors in at inflated rates, and issue press releases promising swift resolution—a costly and unsustainable approach that ignores the systemic decay beneath the surface.
This lack of accountability trickles down. Residents are demanding to know exactly how the utility budget is being spent and why emergency services often take hours to respond to major electrical fires, sometimes resulting in total asset write-offs that could have been avoided.
Beyond Emergency Repairs: Securing Tshwane's Electrical Future
The solution requires a radical shift in approach, moving away from reactive patching towards aggressive, long-term infrastructure revitalization. Tshwane needs more than just functional substations; it needs grid resilience that can withstand environmental pressures and increasing demand.
The coalition government must immediately depoliticize the infrastructure portfolio and commit to a non-negotiable, multi-year CAPEX plan. This plan must be ring-fenced, protected from political maneuvering, and strictly audited.
Key immediate steps necessary for stabilizing Tshwane's power grid include:
- Asset Replacement Program: Prioritizing the replacement of the oldest and most volatile transformers and switchgear, rather than just repairing them.
- Skilled Labour Recruitment: Launching aggressive campaigns to hire and retain qualified electrical engineers and technical staff, ensuring 24/7 readiness.
- Preventative Maintenance Schedule: Implementing a stringent, mandatory preventative maintenance schedule for all 132kV and 88kV substations, including regular oil sampling and testing.
- Smart Grid Implementation: Investing in modern SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems to allow for remote monitoring, predictive failure analysis, and faster fault isolation.
- Revenue Enforcement: Taking decisive legal action against major non-paying consumers to stabilize the municipal balance sheet and free up infrastructure funding.
The costs of inaction far outweigh the costs of investment. Every time a substation burns, the economic toll on the city—in terms of damaged property, lost business revenue, and declining investor confidence—skyrockets. This systemic failure severely damages Tshwane's standing as a metropolitan economy.
The citizens of Tshwane deserve a clear, transparent commitment from the ANC/ActionSA coalition. They must demonstrate that prioritizing electricity infrastructure is not just an election promise, but an essential governing mandate. Until power infrastructure moves to the top of the municipal agenda, the city will remain captive to darkness, defined by the smoldering remains of neglected substations.
The time for political excuses is over. Tshwane needs lights, and stability, now.
Tshwane Substations burning and ANC/ActionSA coalition government still not prioritising electricity infrastructure
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