As of the end of July 2022, the City of Johannesburg has retrofitted over 2,000 streetlights with LEDs in an effort to improve these fixtures’ energy consumption as well as general road safety.
The LED units conserve significant power when compared to the bulbs of old while also providing a larger area of brighter white light.
“The LED units that City Power is deploying will on average save five times more energy than the old streetlight technology being replaced, reducing pressure on our already strained network and conserving energy that will ultimately help to prevent outages,” said Michael Sun, MMC for the environment and infrastructure services department.
“With a ten to fifteen-year lifespan, these LED units will save City Power significant maintenance hours that can be redirected to upgrading the network and dealing with outages and cable theft.”
The retrofitted LEDs also have built-in meters that will measure consumption in direct Eskom-supplied areas, thereby preventing the reliance on estimations when billing is processed, he said.
Call to report theft and vandalism
The City of Johannesburg calls on the communities residing in the area to “help ensure vandals and cable thieves stay far away from these new LED units.”
Theft and vandalism are two of the main reasons for the degradation of streetlights and City Power infrastructure, and Johannesburg residents are strongly urged to report any damaged infrastructure or suspicious behaviours.
“Cable thieves may be arrested but will only face jail time for stealing and destroying infrastructure if evidence is provided when a case is opened with the police,” said Sun.
“City Power is thus appealing for any information relating to cable theft.”
A criminal was sentenced to 12 years in prison in July for the theft of City Power cabling in Honeydew in September 2021.
“Their conviction was only possible through community involvement after residents promptly reported the incident to City Power,” said Sun.
The City provides two 24/7 cable theft hotlines, as well as one Whatsapp hotline, for citizens to report cable theft or suspicious actors:
- 011 490 7553
- 011 490 7911
- 083 579 4497 (Whatsapp)
To report outages or faulty streetlights, individuals can also log onto the City Power fault logging portal.
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