The Makhado Municipality has embarked on a multi-million-rand upgrade of Louis Trichardt's electrical infrastructure to allow for future growth of the town. The upgrades form part of a three-year programme, with two upgrades taking place each year.
The programme was kick-started at the Stubbs Street substation, which had a 5 MVA (megavolt amperes) capacity, boasting two 5 MVA transformers working side by side. This means that in the event that one of the transformers suffers a breakdown, the electricity can be switched over to the other transformer. During a week-long upgrade process in April, the Makhado Municipality removed one the 5 MVA transformers and replaced it with a new 10 MVA transformer with the aim of increasing the substation's capacity to 10 MVA. The other 5 MVA transformer will be replaced with a new 10 MVA in the next financial year. This will allow for growth in the area north of Stubbs Street and east of the N1 (New Town) currently being serviced by the Stubbs Street sub-station.
The programme will, upon completion, see the upgrade of the Boompark and Roodewal substations from 2 MVA to 5 MVA, while new technology in terms of electrical switches will be installed at the Emmarentia substation. The municipality need to upgrade the technology because they are still using old switch gears at the substation. The same new technology had already been installed at the Stubbs Street substation during a previous upgrade.
The upgrade will also see an emphasis on recycling. The transformers they are taking out will be re-casketed and reconditioned because they are still working. They will then be stored as back-up transformers in case of emergencies.
The new 10 MVA transformer installed at the Stubbs Street substation, as well as the others to be installed, was purchased and shipped from China. For this initial upgrade of the Stubbs Street substation, the upgrade cost around R3 million. This includes the purchase price, shipping, crane service and installation.