Telecommunications provider Vumatel has temporarily halted digging activity in Blairgowrie to secure cable locators that will assist the contractors in pinpointing the exact location of power utility City Power’s electricity cables.

The area had been experiencing electricity supply disruptions since last week, owing to cables being damaged in the trenching process to install fibre-optic cables.

City Power noted that the ageing electricity cables were susceptible to damage during trenching and posed a safety hazard to contractors who could be electrocuted. The locators would ensure reduced cable damage, as well as ensure the safety of contractors trenching in the area.

To date, Vumatel had installed fibre-optic infrastructure in 18 Johannesburg suburbs, including Parkhurst, Parktown North, Greenside, Killarney, Riviera, Parkwood and Saxonwold.

“This is an important project, as we work to provide competition in the telecommunications space, increase and improve connectivity in South Africa and contribute to the aims of SA Connect,” Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman told Engineering News Online in an e-mailed response to questions.

He added that the company took a number of precautionary measures to ensure it did not damage other services during the trenching process.

“There is a wayleave process where all service providers give us plans indicating the run of their infrastructure. We hold kick-off meetings with these service providers before starting with the project so that they can point out the location of their infrastructure in the ground,” he said.

Further, Schoeman noted that pilot holes were opened every 30 m to expose services underground and, if there were many, pilot holes were dug every 10 m. “Before doing road crossings, we also scan the road for services,” he pointed out.

However, he noted that the challenge in older suburbs such as Blairgowrie arose as these services were old and their locations and depths uncertain.

“There is also a proliferation of medium-voltage cables throughout the area. This issue was highlighted by the recent incident in Blairgowrie. We have thus engaged with City Power to take further joint measures to prevent this from happening in the future and prevent further disruptions to residents.

“We have agreed with City Power to make use of scanning equipment and cable locators for the remainder of the build in areas including Blairgowrie and Hurlingham to assist in the location of services, since it has become clear that we cannot rely on other previously successful methods,” Schoeman explained.

Vumatel and City Power also established a joint communications team to oversee and facilitate communication with affected residents in cases of unplanned outages.

The companies would also host a town hall meeting on Tuesday evening at Delta Park Primary School to address residents.