The City’s Energy Directorate recently visited Delft to assess public lighting challenges and to investigate additional measures to improve public lighting in the community.
Between 26 September and 25 October, the City attended to 7 423 streetlight-related requests across the metro. Public lighting plays a critical role in all communities and the City continues to prioritise repairs, upgrades, and proactive maintenance across Cape Town.
Challenges
“The City continues to face significant challenges in parts of Delft, as criminal elements target and damage community infrastructure, as detailed in our reports. Our teams on the ground frequently report that once repairs are completed, the infrastructure is often damaged shortly thereafter. This repetitive cycle of damage and repair places an enormous strain on municipal resources that could otherwise be allocated to improving and expanding services,” says teh City’s Mayco member for energy, Xanthea Limberg.
“During our visit, our teams also observed some servitude encroachments, where household extensions or boundary walls have been built very close to streetlight infrastructure. Encroachment also increases the time taken to restore lighting when faults occur, directly impacting on the service for residents. Despite these challenges, the City is dedicating additional resources to accelerate the response to vandalised and damaged infrastructure and we maintain a close working relationship with the community to find sustainable solutions,” she says.
The City thanks the Delft community for their ongoing support and reaffirms the commitment to improving public lighting in the area.
“Overall between 26 September and 25 October, the City attended to 7 423 streetlight-related requests across the metro. Most outages are driven by vandalism, theft and illegal connections and the City continues to roll out innovative and law enforcement-based approaches to curb the scourge. The total electricity-related service requests resolved over this period was 23 483,” says Limberg.
R62 million
The City has spent approximately R62 million in the past financial year on electricity infrastructure maintenance and replacement. Protect Your Power is a first of a kind campaign which highlights the massive impact of vandalism, theft, and illegal connections that leave communities, neighbourhoods, and roadways in the dark. The City is calling on all residents to help them Protect Your Power and build safer, brighter communities by reporting any suspicious activity anonymously to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre (PECC). Report suspicious behaviour to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700.
