The streets of the Helderberg are being illuminated with the light emitting diode (LED) street light project by the City of Cape Town.
The project, which started in the popular Beach Road in Strand in 2017, is steadilyy progressing. The City has been replacing the old Mercury Vapour (MV) luminaires with energy-efficient LED luminaires.
Since last year, the City’s electricity generation and distribution teams have installed more than 735 LED luminaires in the area. The LED refurbishment project is a metro-wide project and funding for the upgrades is allocated annually.
LED luminaires have already been installed in Heldervue, Mission Grounds in Sir Lowry’s Pass, Jameson and Rusthof. The next phase of the project will commence in the Van der Stel and Faure Marine areas over the coming weeks. The City allocated R1,9 million towards the LED project for the current financial year.
Beverley van Reneen, Mayoral Committee member for Energy and Climate Change visited the area to assess the project’s progress last Thursday (3 March).
“We must continue ensuring residents across the city have secure and sufficient street lighting,” she pointed out. “LED luminaires also provide a number of benefits to residents and we look forward to completing the project across the metropole.”
According to van Reenen, the LED luminaires require less maintenance and only need replacing every 25 years.
“The equipment also has an almost zero failure rate. It is also more environmentally friendly.” she pointed out. “Work continues across the metro and we thank our teams for their hard work. We also remind residents to be our eyes and ears and to assist us in protecting our electricity infrastructure.”
Vandalism and theft of infrastructure is an ongoing problem in many communities, Van Reenen pointed out. “We ask residents to assist by reporting vandalism and theft to the City and the South African Police Service. We continue to deploy security and monitor hotspot areas where possible, but we rely on our communities to alert us and to help us protect community infrastructure.”
To report any damage to municipal electricity infrastructure, rsidents can send an SMS to 31220 or an email to power@capetown.gov.za.
Residents can also give anonymous tip-offs if they are aware of illegal activity involving electricity, such as illegal connections or unlawful occupations that has occurred or will still occur.
To report these incidences or any emergencies, phone 021 480 7700.
