The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) revealed that it has spent between R9 million and R11.3 million since July 2023 on its Traffic Signal Backup Power Initiative (TSBPI) to keep traffic lights operational during load-shedding.
The TSBPI has seen over 40 private companies signing service-level agreements with the JRA to provide backup power to important intersections when there are grid outages.
For the support systems to work, the JRA had to upgrade each individual site with the necessary infrastructure which cost anywhere from R80,000 to R100,000 per location.
“The amount can be more depending on whether the JRA has scheduled that particular intersection for an upgrade, and can include re-cabling the entire intersection, paving, and installing new controller boxes on the sidewalks,” said the agency.
The partner companies now supply a power uptake of between 550W to 1,500W per hour at these road crossings, which is equivalent to powering a laptop.
During Stage 6 load-shedding, this amounts to daily average electricity costs of around R35.00 thanks to energy-saving technologies such as LEDs in the lights, said the JRA
The corporates involved include major names such as Investec, Vodacom, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Growthpoint, Sasol, Discovery Limited, Old Mutual, Liberty, Rand Merchant Bank, Momentum, Southern Sun, Santam, Sanlam, Davinci Hotel, MTN and Suites, and Netcare.
At present, 113 intersections in and around Joburg are being supported by the initiative, and in the Sandon Central Management District alone, the TSBPI has resulted in the powering of over 85% of traffic light intersections.
Substantial benefits to the economy
The TSBPI has provided substantial benefits to the Gauteng economy despite the massive costs incurred during its implementation.
In terms of improved safety for both pedestrians and motorists, reduced road rage incidents, and less time spent on the roads due to compromised traffic flow, the project has easily translated into “billions” of rands saved, said the JRA.
Furthermore, the TSBPI has proved invaluable in evolving Joburg into a Smart City by assisting in the execution of its Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Strategy 2027.
“The game-changing ITS Strategy 2027 focuses on how the JRA should contribute to an evolving city like Johannesburg by incorporating a Smart City Focus, recognizing shifts in travel patterns due to an increase in the movement of goods and people across the city,” said the JRA.
In addition to powering intersections, the ITS Strategy 2027 intends to improve the management of traffic throughout the City’s road network by installing smart or advanced traffic light systems that can automatically predict movement patterns through the use of artificial intelligence.
“To achieve this, the JRA needs to have in place a stable electricity supply for its traffic signals network, which has been made possible by the partnering corporations,” said the agency.
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