The City of Johannesburg on Thursday relaunched the Wilro Park substation after it underwent a R131-million refurbishment.
Mayor Herman Mashaba said a stable power supply means a greater chance of business growth in communities, leading to the creation of much needed jobs and growth of the local economy.
"These upgrades are key to grid stability in Johannesburg where each individual upgrade contributes to a more reliable overall power supply," said Mashaba.
"Wilro Park substation supplies approximately 5 000 domestic and business customers in the Roodepoort area and the areas of Wilro Park, Princess Crossing, Princess, Roodekrans, Helderkruin, and Breaunanda will benefit directly from this upgrade."
Mashaba was accompanied by member of the mayoral committee for environment and infrastructure services, Nico de Jager, and City Power management.
He said the substation’s safety operating standards have now been enhanced, mitigating the risk of injuries.
The upgrade further allows for any future service connections that made from the substation to be made without compromising the stability of the grid.
"It is critical that we continue to increase capacity at substations like Wilro Park to ensure that we can meet the rising consumption demand that comes with population growth, especially in Johannesburg," said Mashaba.
"I would like to thank the members of this coalition government; the IFP, ACDP, COPE, UDM and Freedom Front Plus for their continued support."
Mashaba also thanked the Economic Freedom Fighters for their contributions although not a member of the coalition. The EFF votes on an issue-by-issue basis.
He said this was one of 11 major substation upgrades City Power is currently working on and completion of the Wilro Park substation upgrade is the first of six planned for the current financial year.