The Drakenstein Municipality has in the interest of road user and pedestrian safety temporarily disconnected all traffic lights that have gel batteries from its Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) systems following two incidents where these R5,1 million UPS systems exploded at separate intersections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These UPS systems form part of the municipality\u2019s backup power supply initiatives and keep traffic lights on during prolonged hours of load shedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week Paarl Post <\/i>reported that 41 out of the total of 48 traffic lights within the municipality have already been fitted with UPS systems at its intersec\u00adtions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday at around 18:00 an explosion was heard near the intersection of Bergrivier Boulevard and Cecilia Street in Paarl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to some residents, the lid of the manhole reportedly landed 500 m away from where the manhole is located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Louis Pienaar, the municipality\u2019s executive director of engineering services, confirmed to Paarl Post <\/span>that the UPS at this intersection did indeed experience a failure.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n \u201cIn the interest of road user and pedestrian safety, the municipality temporarily disconnected all traffic lights that have gel batteries as a precautionary measure. This followed two incidents where gel batteries leaked, which resulted in explosions. In Berg River Boulevard, the manhole unit was damaged and will be repaired in the next two weeks.\u201d<\/i>\n<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Pienaar no injuries were reported. He says the municipality has disconnected all gel installations and will replace gel batteries with \u201cmore reliable lithium ones\u201d. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \u201cThe UPS systems will be reconnected as soon as the installations are comple\u00adted. Most of the installations are already equipped with lithium batteries, which have proven to be reliable,\u201d Pienaar added. He says this strategic investment in UPS technology is a key component of Drakenstein Municipality\u2019s three-pronged Eskom Load Shedding Resilience Plan, aimed at the continuation of service delivery.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UPS systems assist with traffic flow and help to ensure road safety, particularly during periods of Eskom load shedding when lights are inactive. The municipality is among the first municipalities in South Africa to implement such systems.\u201d Intersections in areas such as Wellington and Klap\u00admuts have also recently been added onto the grid.<\/i><\/p><\/i>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Drakenstein Municipality has in the interest of road user and pedestrian safety temporarily disconnected all traffic lights that have gel batteries from its Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) systems following two incidents where these R5,1 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