NEWS RELEASE                                                                                        27 March 2002

 CITY MOVING AHEAD FAST WITH ELECTRIFICATION OF POOR AREAS                                                

The City of Cape Town has helped install electricity in 24 800 homes in the past eighteen months and is making solid progress with electrification in informal settlements and low-cost housing estates.

Councillor David Erleigh, the Executive Committee Member for City Infrastructure, estimates that the Council and Eskom will connect about 17 500 homes in informal settlements and 5 500 low-cost houses in the current financial year.

“Apart from the convenience of having electricity on tap, proper connections are making the supply of electricity much safer for the consumer in poor areas, where some consumers have taken leads off houses in surrounding formal areas,” he said.  

“Because proper connections increase safety, we are aiming for 100% penetration so there will be no need to resort to unsafe connections.  

“Consumers in poor areas are also feeling the benefits of the City of Cape Town’s introduction of 20 KWh of free electricity each month – a commitment the Council made when the new City of Cape Town was born.” 

Among the areas adjacent to overhead mains that have been or are being electrified are Phola Park, Waterfront (Guguletu), Joe Slovo, Lusaka, Barcelona, Europe, Kanana and New Rest. 

“The success of the project and the increase in the delivery rate of connections is largely due to a recent improvement in the method used to install networks and connections to dwellings,” said Councillor Erleigh. 

He also noted good progress in the evolution from ordinary to pre-paid electricity meters. Some 60% of consumers have been converted to pre-paid meters, which has drastically reduced arrears on electricity accounts. 

“The City of Cape Town is expecting to install about 25 000 pre-payment meters this financial year compared with 21 000 last year, and we are well on track to meet our targets,” said Councillor Erleigh. 

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