From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report.

Sashnee Moodley:

City of Johannesburg and City Power last month unveiled electric vehicle charging stations at City Power’s offices in Booysens that constitutes Phase 1 of an EV charging station rollout programme that will eventually see widespread EV charging infrastructure across Johannesburg being installed. Marleny Arnoldi tells us more.

Marleny Arnoldi:

City Power says the EV charging stations are a pioneering step towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy future for the city. The 14 charging points are open for use by the public in addition to the service vehicles of City Power and government entities.

Johannesburg is the first municipality in the country to commission EV charging stations for government’s fleet of service delivery vehicles. City of Johannesburg also aims to electrify the Metrobus fleet as the EV charging station rollout programme is expanded.

Johannesburg Mayor Sello Dada Morero tells us more about the benefits of having EV charging stations rolled out in the city.

Johannesburg Mayor Sello Dada Morero…

Marleny Arnoldi:

City Power is steadily converting its fleet of 680 vehicles to plug-in hybrid or full EVs, which is expected to save the entity more than R40-million in fuel costs over a five-year period.

Next the city will look to introducing superchargers for faster charging within 15 minutes and battery energy storage systems to buy and store electricity in off-peak periods for EV charging.

City Power acting CEO Charles Tlouane elaborates on the rollout plan and envisioned cost savings.

City Power acting CEO Charles Tlouane…

Marleny Arnoldi:

With the city encouraging the uptake of EVs to lower carbon emissions, residents will experience lower air and noise pollution levels. City Power also plans to convert its diesel generators to electric generators for back-up power purposes. Tlouane expands.

City Power acting CEO Charles Tlouane…

Sashnee Moodley:

That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy. Don’t forget to listen to the audio version of our Engineering News daily email newsletter.