Of all the infrastructure affected by load shedding, cables and transformers are most affected by damage or theft and account for 25% and 23%, respectively, according to the South African Local Government Association (Salga). Picture: Supplied
South African municipalities have forked out just over R1.6 billion to replace or repair electricity infrastructure that was damaged, vandalised, or stolen in the financial year, according to the South African Local Government Association (Salga).
This data is from a survey that Salga conducted, which measures the impact load shedding has on municipal finances.
Eighty-nine municipalities took part in the survey, including licensed municipal distributors and water services authorities (WSAs).
The frequency and intensity of theft and vandalism of state-owned infrastructure have increased during load shedding, Salga found.
“Of all the infrastructure affected by load shedding, cables and transformers are most affected through damage or theft, and account for 25% and 23%, respectively.
“The costs to replace or repair damaged (due to excessive switching), vandalised, or stolen electricity distribution network equipment across the 89 municipalities amounted to R1,602, 300,000 million in this financial year,” Salga said.
But electricity is not the only service being attacked during load shedding, as water has also been affected.
There are 144 water service authorities in South Africa.
From 75 out of 144 WSA’s, the local government is spending “at least R443,640,000” on repairs at wastewater treatment facilities that were vandalised and damaged during load shedding.
Furthermore, the 75 WSA’s are spending around R1.4 billion on fixing wastewater treatment facilities and the procurement of backup generators and diesel to operate during load shedding.
When it comes to revenue lost due to unserved energy, which is a demand that is not met, 65 municipalities are losing “in excess of R10,826,252,000 (R10.8 billion) per annum.”
These 65 municipalities are made up of five metropolitan areas and 670 local municipalities, all of which provided Salga with data on unserved energy revenue loss.
Each of the five metros have lost an average of just under R800 million in revenue due to unserved energy.
“Similarly, the total loss due to unserved energy from 60 local municipalities amounts to R6,850,252,000, with 156 licensed local municipal distributors.”
This excludes losses based on customers converting to renewable energy sources.
The expenses keep compounding, as local governments' budgets are also bleeding cash in the form of security measures.
“Municipalities are spending in excess of over R596,200,000 per annum on private security to assist in preventing theft and the implementation of early warning detection of cable theft because such equipment is vulnerable during load shedding.
“Municipalities are incurring an annual average of R1,107,583,200 on staff overtime and contractors during load shedding,” the Salga report said.
Next week, Salga will host municipal officials in uMhlanga as it hosts the KZN Energy Summit.
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