City Power on Thursday officially launched the newly-built Sebenza 400 kV – 275/132 kV intake substation, built and project managed by Consolidated Power Projects (Conco) on behalf of City Power.

The ribbon cutting marking the opening was undertaken by Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba and City Power chairperson Lael Bethlehem.

The substation is fully operational.

The substation is located behind the Kelvin power station, near Kempton Park, in Ekurhuleni, but belongs to Johannesburg’s City Power.

The substation will be one of the main intake substations in the north-eastern region of Johannesburg and is aimed at stabilising the power supply in the north-eastern area of Johannesburg, as well as parts of the south.

These areas include Modderfontien, Gresswold, Sandringham, Alexandra, Athol Oaklands, Rosebank, Melrose and Parkhurst.

The substation takes care of the immediate power needs of the city, as well as the future needs in terms of development.

Further to this, it relieves load on the Prospect and Kelvin substations, leading to additional capacity and contingency, thereby minimising the risk of power outages.

The substation is one of the biggest City Power substations and the largest built in the country over the past decade.

The substation has been built with expansion in mind and is intended to increase in capacity from 315 MVA to 1 000 MVA. This is expected to considerably improve reliability and stability of the grid.

Notably, the substation was completed R50-million under budget and no injuries were recorded during construction.

The substation constitutes 80% local materials.

Speaking at the launch, Mashaba emphasised that the substation was important not just for the city, but for the country as a whole, as its assists in enhancing the city’s power supply capacity.

“Johannesburg drives the economy of the country, and this requires a consistent supply of electricity.”