Residents are rallying against a plan to channel about 400kV of electricity down Highlands Drive.
The Colorado Park, Wildwood and Vanguard Villas ratepayers associations are fighting against a plan to erect electricity pylons along the road and the building of the Erica substation on its periphery, in Philippi.
They say they want the City to give clear details on when the public participation will take place and when they plan to erect the pylons and substation which will channel more than 400kV through Mitchell’s Plain.
Colorado Park Ratepayers Association (CRRA) chair Natalie Bent said she has been fighting the pylons since her time as sub-council chair.
“Years ago, I also objected to this because I was very concerned, especially with the electromagnetics, the 400kV because that’s the overhead that they want.”
Bent said the high voltage is a health concern.
Last month, several City officials, councillors, the Mayco member for energy Xanthea Limberg and Nsovo Environmental Consultants met with residents to address their concerns at a public meeting on Thursday July 24, Bent said, but added that the meeting was poorly attended.
“All the people had to be in attendance so that they could understand what was happening here, so we as an executive, we’ve taken it on ourselves to drive this process that our people know that they need to give input,” she said.
The ratepayers’ executive has asked for the different assessment reports and details on when the public participation will take place.
“I’ve received no response from them and this is the problem that we have as CRRA. When we send emails to the sub-council, we don’t get a response.
“Extensively advertised”
According to the City public participation has already taken place.
Deputy mayor Eddie Andrews said the rezoning application for the erf in Philippi where the substation will be built was “extensively advertised” via notices to persons, on-site notices, notices to ward councillors and sub-council, and press adverts on 5 April 2024.“No objections were received. The application has however not been decided yet, as there is still information required from the applicant, and therefore it would be premature to establish the date for commencement of construction.”
Eskom, in an email from it’s media desk, said that several public participation processes had taken place.
“Various legislated public participation processes have been conducted by independent experts during the course of acquiring all the permits that are necessary for the establishment of the Erica substation and its associated lines. During the course of these engagements the public has been briefed on technical information, the project specifics, as well as appropriate environmental, health and safety information. Various line and substation siting alternatives were studied by suitable independent specialists during the development process and the current site and line route was recommended and endorsed by the legislated authorities.”
Distance mitigates danger
The email also said that the only times pylons are dangerous are when structures are built directly underneath.
“The building of structures beneath powerlines is a major risk issue in South Africa. This encroaching of servitudes by communities not only impacts utilities who need to maintain the towers and lines, but also increases the risk to the people living under power lines. They are exposed to danger if there is an ‘earth-fault’ (short-circuit) on the line, within the servitudes. The NTCSA continuously educates communities about the dangers of building structures under powerlines and shares the information with municipalities across the country. “Powerlines emit low levels of electromagnetic radiation, which quickly drop off as proximity to the lines decreases. Electromagnetic radiation from power lines is reportedly very low on the risk of common exposures identified by the IARC and has not readily been associated with any type of cancer.”
“Power lines in close proximity to residential areas do not have any health hazards, provided no permanent structures are built within powerline servitude areas.”
The email also said that the City’s electricity infrastructure is aging and this project, which is more than a decade in the making, is intended to support the City’s electricity supply.
“The City of Cape Town has a heavy reliance on aged and underdeveloped infrastructure to connect it to the South African national electricity grid. This infrastructure is required to reliably import energy from the legacy, as well as developing South African renewable energy generation assets (wind and solar farms), into the Peninsula area of the City. “The planned Erica substation and its associated lines, over 15 years in the planning, are a key solution, that is expected to support the backbone of the City’s national grid connection for many decades to come.
“The timely construction of the Erica substation, and its associated lines, is expected to restore the integrity and reliability of electricity supply to large portions of the Peninsula area. The reliability of energy supply would otherwise become progressively constrained to the extent that it would hamper further development within the region,” the email said.
With regards to public participation, Eskom says there have been numerous engagements.
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