last-news

An online Small Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) Application Platform has been developed with support from Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA) to streamline the process of submitting and approving applications. The platform will be made available for all municipalities to use. George Municipality is once again a leader in the process as it is one of the pilot municipalities, in keeping with its proactive promotion of sustainable energy.

Small Scale embedded generator (SSEG) refers to the power generated in residential, commercial or industrial areas. These are mainly the photovoltaic (PV) systems that include other technologies such as inverters, Bi-directional meters and battery storage. An SSEG customer generates electricity on the side and synchronises with the municipal grid. Up to now, almost all municipalities have only allowed for a manual SSEG application submission. Due to the manual application process, a number of applications were delayed due to incorrect or incomplete information being submitted, causing significant delays in the approval process.

According to the Director for Electrotechnical Services in the George Municipality, Bongani Mandla, the Online Platform simplifies and speeds up the process considerably. “It immediately notifies the applicant if the information is incomplete or incorrect and will not submit the application until these and other parameters have been checked and verified,” he said.

“It also facilitates the process of checking by officials, as the platform automatically does the necessary checks and calculations, prompts for the information needed, and ensures that officials are guided through all the required assessment steps seamlessly. A GIS facility allows officials to see all registered installations to help keep an eye on network congestion in particular areas,” Mandla added.

Importantly, it alerts municipal officials of the arrival of new applications and keeps the applicant informed of stages in the process by automating email communications. A common complaint of applicants is that they have no idea if their application has been accepted, is being looked at, or needs correcting. This communication automation helps address the issue.

It further helps municipalities by keeping a record of data from all applications, making reporting to NERSA easy and enabling quick totalling of SSEG capacity registered on the platform.

Mphielo Ramotsamai, from the George Municipality’s Electrotechnical Services, has been driving this process with the help of Sustainable Energy. “Since George municipality accepts or allows the SSEG on the network, I coordinate the process from the municipality side, Ramotsamai said. “Last year we were invited by Sustainable Energy Africa to be part of the Online Platform Pilot for SSEG; this was followed by a series of meetings and training. We are happy to confirm that the system is available already to the public. http://apply.sseg.org.za.

By the end of February, the platform is expected to be ready for all municipalities to join. Municipal Distributors wanting to be included on the Platform should email support@sseg.org.za.

There was much expectation that the State President would reveal a pathway to tackle the electricity crisis during his State of the Nation Address last Thursday. The purpose of declaring a disaster should be to provide the mechanisms to rapidly unblock the red-tape within the highly regulated electricity industry. Due to the unreliability of Eskom’s generating fleet, the electricity supply market needs to be urgently opened up to implement the introduction of electricity generated from private producers of wind, solar PV, battery energy storage, etc.

From a George perspective, we have engaged Premier Winde on questions that range from the technical issues of connecting battery energy storage systems into the grid at the appropriate sub-stations to the relaxation of the regulatory hurdles and rapid environmental approvals. Local government legislation also prescribes when and how budgets can be approved as well as the funding arrangements that are permitted. In partnership with the Western Cape Government, these issues are being escalated to champion the reduction of red-tape to fast-track the necessary approvals. It is hoped that the disaster declaration will fast-track such approvals to introduce renewable energy much faster. With draft budgets due to be tabled by the end of March there is additional urgency.

Loadshedding is placing huge pressures on industry and agriculture who need reliability of electricity supply to plan production runs and irrigation respectively. The regular changes to Stages of loadshedding and in daily schedules add to the uncertainties experienced by business. The costs of diesel to power generators also adds to the expense of doing business. Solutions will need to be found to overcome existing structural limitations within the distribution grid and the technicalities for the integration of renewable energy into the grid.

George’s Electro-tech Directorate has just hosted a Wheeling symposium to share the experience gained from pilot project that’s the wheels electricity privately produced to consumers acquiring that power through the municipal grid. This requires specialised metering of the flows. It is expected that additional private producers will over time enter this market to sell their excess electricity produced to users located elsewhere within the municipal network.

The municipality’s approach to the electricity supply crisis is firstly to secure renewable energy for its water, waste-water and pump infrastructure and own buildings. This will comprise solar PV and battery energy storage with the aim for George to avoid Stage 1 and 2 of loadshedding over the next 12 to 18 months. Additional projects being planned will extend own generation so that Stages 3 and 4 can be avoided within three years.

The urgent objective is therefore to advance the timeline for the introduction of renewable energy to alleviate the disruption to business and households caused by loadshedding.

George Municipality invites all organisers who host events within the George municipal area to participate in an Events Compliance and Support Workshop that is scheduled to take place on Friday, 24 February 2023 at the George Municipality Conference Room, from 14: 00 -16:00.

George Municipality devotes resources to support small, medium and major events hosted in the greater George area to drive economic and tourism growth. Well-planned and marketed events have the potential to strengthen the local economy, provide destination media exposure and stimulate infrastructure upgrades in the city.

Required event application procedures, compliances and regulations will be presented to create awareness about what event organisers require to host an event legally. Topics will include the population certificate, land zoning and noise exemptions, permission to use public spaces and/or book municipal venues, collecting statistics about the economic impact and media awareness.

During the workshop, organisers will also receive information regarding the annual George Municipality Event Support Application Program which offers financial and non-financial backing to events taking place in the municipal area.

GEORGE EVENTS COMPLIANCE AND SUPPORT WORKSHOP

Date: Friday, 24 February 2023
Time: 14:00 – 16:00
Venue: George Municipality Conference Hall, 71 York Street, George
RSVP: Send your contact details and event name to events@visitgeorge.co.za by Wednesday the 23rd of February 2023

For any enquiries, contact Melanie Martins at the George Tourism Office on 044 801 9299.

Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk acknowledges the challenges being faced by the Business and Agricultural Sectors currently with regard to the energy crisis. “We are fully aware that numerous business operations in and around George require consistency in the provision of electricity during certain hours of the day or on a 24-hour basis. These needs have shaped the municipal philosophy to alleviate Stage 1 (up to 2 hours per day) and Stage 2 (up to 4 hours per day) of loadshedding as soon as possible to provide greater security of supply for these sectors.

George Municipality agrees that the current loadshedding is nothing short of a crisis, but reminds residents that the municipality is not responsible for loadshedding and has no option but to implement as received. The municipality’s ability to generate power for use of our residents is limited but we are actively working on reducing our daily energy requirements from ESKOM.

George uses at peak times up to 85MVA per day. So, if the municipality can reduce our own consumption of energy by 10% (between 8MW and 10MW) continuously,  we should be able to apply to EKSOM to relieve us of Stage 1 and 2 Loadshedding.  This will also assist us in achieving our goal of reducing internal electricity costs and increasing sustainability. The priority goal will be that the city and its residents will then be freed of at least one stage , that is two hours, of loadshedding. This is however not a quick fix, and currently the plan is that for the calendar year 2023., the municipality will add 3MW of own energy and before December 2024 another 9MW should be commissioned into the system.

Director for Electro-technical Services, Bongani Mandla explains that George Municipality is implementing a three-pronged operational approach to significantly reduce our reliance on energy supply from Eskom.

“This approach has three focus areas; one being Energy Efficiency, another Own-Build Programme, and finally the procurement of energy from Independent Power Producers (IPPs). The highly unreliable supply of energy, coupled with the ever-increasing tariffs and the high cost of diesel has forced George Municipality to implement some of its plans earlier than initially intended. The expediting of the plans is driven by the city’s urgent need to relieve its residents from Stage 2 loadshedding in the next 18 to 24 months and subsequently off Stage 4 loadshedding within 36 months.

In order to achieve this much needed reduction of loadshedding,  the city has already started its Own-Build programme, which is intended to deliver around 30MW of energy into the grid over the next 36 months, subject to feasibility studies and environmental approval. The city is working hard to ensure that at least 10MW is delivered by this programme within the next 18 months, as most of the smaller projects have passed the basic environmental assessment, whilst the 9MW PV Solar Plant is nearing the final stage of the Environmental Impact Assessment approval process.

George issued a Request for Proposal from IPPs and received overwhelming support in terms of potential technologies available,  as well as options available to supply between 30 and 40MW. A phased approach of IPP procurement will be followed to ensure that the city is able to secure between 30 to 40 MW from this programme within the next 36 months. Once both IPP procurement and Own-Build delivers energy to the grid, the reliance of the city on the Eskom network would be significantly reduced. The implementation of our ongoing energy efficiency projects will further reduce this reliance.”

What has George implemented to assist residents during loadshedding
Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) units at a cost of approximately R3.6 million have been installed at 56 of the main traffic intersections. These units, which are eco-friendly and energy-saving, automatically kick in and operate the traffic lights should the electricity supply be interrupted for any reason for at least 2- 4 hours, before the battery needs recharging. This means that traffic intersections in George are free from Eskom’s loadshedding and unplanned power outages for the durability of the batteries, thereby allowing seamless traffic flow.

George Municipality has also out of necessity, installed large generators at a number of our pump stations, 30 at sewer pump stations and 5 at various Water Treatment Works, in order to keep water flowing and sewerage pumpstations operational during loadshedding. Our Civil Engineering Services department is in the process of a water and sewer pump station audit which will confirm any future requirements.

What has George already implemented already to reduce own energy consumption
The municipality commissioned a PV Plant as a pilot project for the main municipal building in September 2021. The 300kWp (kilowatt peak) solar plant at the Civic Centre parking lot helps keep systems going during loadshedding and produces on average 41 500 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy a month which supplies the Civic Centre building. The excess flows into the grid and supplies the neighbouring houses, residents, and businesses.  The total production is an average of 500 000kWh of energy per year.

A battery energy storage system(BESS) will be installed by the end of July 2023 for the Civic Centre, which will allow for the plant to continue to generate energy even during loadshedding and for the storage system to support the supply to the building when the Eskom network is not available.  All of the George municipal buildings have had energy efficient lights installed, as well as over 111 energy efficient air conditioners. A number of buildings are scheduled for rooftop PV solar in the 2023/24 financial year, and the preparatory work and studies are underway to have all of our municipal buildings self-sufficient by December 2026.

Over the past few years, a total of 5583 streetlights (Compact Fluorescent Lamps, High Pressure Sodium and Mercury Vapour) have been replaced by light-emitting diodes (LED)at a cost of R14 501 513 (Municipal and EEDSM Funding). This phased-in approach will continue until we have replaced or retrofitted all streetlights to LED in the upcoming financial years. Not only do the LEDs reduce the amount of energy used, but they also have a longer lifespan and require less maintenance. The funding for this project is mostly sourced from the Energy Efficiency Demand Side Management programme (EEDSM) managed by the Department of Energy (DOE).

Battery Energy Storage to counter high cost of running generators
George Municipality has out of necessity installed large generators at 30 Sewer Pump Stations and 5 at Water Treatment Works  at a cost of approximately R52 million, in order to keep water flowing and sewerage pumpstations operational during loadshedding.  A further 8 are in process of being procured at a cost of approximately R27 million rand and which includes the two 1250kVa for the Garden Route Dam.  The costs of running these generators are exorbitant and currently totals approximately R148 000 per day in fuel alone at Stage 4, with the fuel costs even higher when Stage 5 and 6 are implemented.

Battery energy  storage is planned for all the Water and Waste-Water Treatment Plants as well as the Sewer Pump stations  in order to reduce the diesel costs. The Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) deployment is being fast-tracked to save costs over the long run. The intention is to deploy BESS of more than 100MWh for the city using a phased-in approach. The city is currently in the process of feasibility studies for the BESS deployment, to assess the technical, environmental, economic and practical feasibility for installation and integration into the distribution network. These studies will further inform the city on the deployment strategy to undertake as it strives to reduce reliance from Eskom.

What projects are underway or due to start this year and are funded by municipal own funds
Four PV Solar Projects are due to start this year and on completion will power loads with energy generated from a clean and renewable source. These projects will be funded from various streams, including municipal own funding, external loans as well as grant funding where applicable.

1. The Outeniqua Wastewater Treatment facility will receive a 400 kWp PV plant. The tender has been awarded and the contractor will start this month. This plant will start physical construction mid-February and the date of commission is end June 2023.
2. The Gwaing Wastewater Treatment facility will receive a 500 kWp PV plant. This tender will need to be re-advertised due to no suppliers meeting the technical requirements. The commission date will be delayed to December 2023.
3. The Denneoord New Waterworks Facility will receive a 400 kWp PV plant. The outstanding approvals have been received, the preparatory work has been started with the plan to commission the site by March 2024.
4. The municipality will build a 1000 kWp or 1 MWp solar farm on Erf 464. The tender for this project is currently at the award stage and it is expected that contractors will be appointed by February 2023. The plant will be commissioned by the end of September 2023 and the power will be connected to the grid to reduce the municipal bulk purchases.

When do you need an EIA to proceed with a renewable energy project?
In terms of the Department of Environmental Affairs, Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) guideline for Renewable Energy Projects, the development of facilities or infrastructure for the generation of electricity from a renewable resource which has an electricity output of more than 1 megawatts (>1MW); and/or if the output is less than 1 megawatts but the total extent of the facility covers an area in excess of 1 hectare, require an EIA to proceed. This excludes where the  development of the  facilities or infrastructure is for photovoltaic installations and occurs within an urban area. The triggers for the EIA include land degradation, habitat loss, water use, hazardous materials, noise, visual issues, electromagnetics and aircraft interference.

What is the status of those George projects that still require EIAs?
The 9 MW PV Solar Plant project requires additional Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) approval. The funding is part of the three-year Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework budget.  Specialist reports have been prepared and the final submission for the EIA will be submitted at the end of March 2023. A Public Participation process will be required and concurrently the tender process which means that construction should start in 2024 should all approvals be received.

Looking ahead and the funding required
Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk noted that Eskom’s inability to ensure reliability in electricity supply has necessitated the development of a municipal strategy to secure alternative renewable energy for George as rapidly as possible. “Our approach has been to urgently address consistent electricity provision to our own infrastructure while at the same time providing relief for key stakeholders in the economy. Energy therefore receives constant attention as we continue in our quest to attract investment and employment into our economy. We also welcome engagements to discuss the challenges and potential solutions from IPPs and others.”

The city has embarked on various investigations which includes the building of a Solar PV Plant capable of generating 30 MW. The project is amongst those which are undergoing feasibility studies in order to identify and establish the practicality, as well as find innovative means of circumventing the space requirements. This utility scale project coupled with a Utility Scale BESS will cost in the region of R1,250 billion. The renewable projects Own-Build programme will cost the city around R2 billion, and George Municipality is continuously engaging various funding institutions both nationwide and internationally to source external funding to assist with covering  the bulk of these costs.

Where does George stand on paying cash for power fed back into local grid?
George Municipality has a Small Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) Feed-in tariff in place which, where the network allows, the customer can be credited for the energy that is fed back to the grid, if they are a NET Consumer. In other words, if they do not feedback more than their total usage. In terms of the George Municipal policy the consumers bill will be credited with the amount of Feed-in energy as per the Tariff list. This will be done with the provision that the amount of credit may not exceed the total Rand value of energy purchased from the Council in the financial year.

There are a number of customers who are already on the correct tariff to feed-in to the Municipal grid, and they are getting 90% of the Eskom cost as a credit against their bill. This is one of the best feed-in tariffs nationally and is available for both Industrial, Commercial and Residential Consumers.  If a customer has installed a much larger system and wants to feed power back to the municipality beyond their total energy requirements, a Municipal procurement process is required and this is where the City of Cape Town (CoCT) has recently received approval for a deviation process which allows it to start paying cash back for power fed into the local electricity grid.

The CoCT was granted an exemption from National Treasury from having to undertake a competitive bidding process, as current legislation does not allow for a city to procure energy without following a competitive bidding process. George Municipality will need to have a similar approved deviation in place and the Electro-technical department is reviewing how this will be practically implemented in George if we were to follow the same approach as CoCT, given the diverse distribution network differences.

George Municipality also has a Wheeling Policy and Process in place, which allows for wheel of power using the municipal grid. Customers who wish to invest in alternative energy, should ensure that the system complies with the applicable regulations and is approved by the Municipality prior to commissioning.

#gettoknowgeorge

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN GEORGE THIS FEBRUARY
Find all the tourism information you need in the greater George area, spanning from hamlets like Herolds Bay to Haarlem to Hoekwil, at www.visitgeorge.co.za – the official tourism destination website.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Coming up over the next month you can look forward to exciting rugby matches, lekker live music and theatre shows, running and golfing for a cause. 

SPORTS EVENTS
Rugby at Outeniqua Park Stadium, George:
044 050 0660 | www.swdarende.co.za | veda@swdeagles.co.za
060 479 7095 | deslie@vwykinc.co.za | Tickets are R10 – R30

• 17 February: SWD Eagles vs Boland
• 24 February: SWD Eagles vs Leopards
• 24 February: Touchies Tournament

060 479 7095 | deslie@vwykinc.co.za | Tickets are R10 – R30

Golf Days

• 02 March: Emmaus Charity Golf Day at Kingswood Golf Estate
  086 172 7170 | www.kingswood.co.za | golf@kingswoodgolf.co.za
• 09 March: UWD Charity Golf Day at the George Golf Club
  044 870 8770 | www.upwithdowns.co.za | upwithdowns@mweb.co.za
• 16 March: Laerskool George Suid Golf Day at Kingswood Golf Estate
  086 172 7170 | www.kingswood.co.za | golf@kingswoodgolf.co.za

17 February: Hope Church Night Run
Garden Route Botanical Garden, George | 062 214 2814 | www.hopechurch.org.za | hello@hopechurch.org.za

The Dotsure George Arts Theatre is housed in an elegant, heritage building dating back to 1905. The building once was home to a girl’s school, a bioscope and in 1969 the theatre opened its doors.  The old film reel projector still lives in the theatre foyer to this day.

MUSIC AND SHOWS
24 February: Bottomless Coffee Band
Down to Earth, Herolds Bay Resort, Herolds Bay | 044 851 0113 | www.heroldsbayresort.co.za | admin@heroldsbayresort.co.za

25 February: The Social Launch
Pollocks at Wilderness| 044 877 0481 | www.facebook.com/pollocksatwilderness

 Various: Dotsure Insurance George Arts Theatre, George
044 873 3938 | www.georgeartstheatre.co.za | enquiries@georgeartstheatre.co.za

• 22-25 February – Seussical the Musical
• 01-04 March – Seussical the Musical
• 07 March – Andrew Young Sounds of the 70’s

The Outeniqua Family Market is a must-do for anyone living in or visiting George. Packed with delicious food stalls and a large children’s play area, a morning at the market will be a Saturday well spent.

REGULAR MARKETS
Outeniqua Family Market – Every Saturday 08:00-14:00
N2, George | 082 465 2952 | outeniquafamilymarket.co.za | info@outeniquafamilymarket.co.za

Sunday Funday Market – Every Sunday 10:00-15:00
Milkwood Village, Wilderness | 061 547 0625 | milkwoodvillage.co.za milkwoodmanagement@gmail.com

Hinenni Community Market – Every Wednesday 08:30-15:00
63Bo-Langvlei Road, Rondevlei, Wilderness | 082 788 8500 | facebook.com/ HinenniFS

HIDDEN GEMS ‘COFFEE WITH’
Have you visited these interesting hidden gems yet?  Enjoy your coffee with…

Over the Mountain Guest Farm in Herold on the Montagu Pass

• Coffee with horses at Saddles and Steam Stable Café
  Beervlei Corner, Seven Passes, Diep-Rivier, Wilderness | +27824945642 | info@blackhorsetrails.co.za | www.blackhorsetrails.co.zaThis charming coffee shop is situated at Black Horse Trails stables.  Enjoy tasty breakfast, lunch or cake baked on-site while in the company of horses, Great Danes and friendly sheep with great mountain views.  There is also a shop open Wednesdays to Mondays.  Check out the tallow soap and cream!
• Coffee with a view at Hallo Coffee
  Remskoen Street, Hoekwil, Wilderness | +27 71 322 7575 |  facebook.com/Hallocoffee.sunshineSituated en route to the Map of Africa in Wilderness, Hallo Coffee has soul soothing views that capture the beauty of the forest and sea, made even better by a hot cup of java.
• Coffee with the pass at Over the Mountain Tea Garden
  Montagu Street, Herold, George | +27448881700 | www.overthemountain.co.zaSituated at the top of the Montagu Pass, not only can the majestic mountain be enjoyed, but also a sense of history which permeates the picturesque grounds.  The property includes the original late 19th century Post Office, Police Station and old farmhouse buildings.  Every item served on the menu at Over the Mountain Tea Garden is homemade.  Try the unique cinnamon cake or dig into the delicious roosterkoek, pancakes or other light meals.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Share your awesome experiences with us on your socials!

#visitgeorge #visitwilderness #visituniondale

VISIT YOUR LOCAL TOURISM OFFICE
Want to know more about what you can see, do, eat and where you can stay?

• GEORGE TOURISM
  044 801 9295 | info@visitgeorge.co.za | 124 York Street, George Central, George, 6529
  facebook/tourismgeorge
  instagram/georgetourism_official
• WILDERNESS TOURISM
  +27 44 877 0045 | info@visitwilderness.co.za | 198 George Road, Wilderness, 6560
  facebook/wildernesstourism
  instagram/wildernesstourism
• UNIONDALE TOURISM
  +27 44 518 0030 | info@visituniondale.co.za | Virtual assistance
  facebook/uniondaleinfo
  instagram/uniondaletourism

In the past few months, cable theft has, according to the George Municipality’s Electrotechnical Services Directorate escalated to the extent where it seems like individuals are targeting or sabotaging the infrastructure of the Electrical department and this affects service delivery due to the incurred damages.

Vandalism of cable theft that has occurred in the past seven months cost the Municipality approximately R 1, 4 million for the work done, says Mr Bongani Mandla, the George Municipality Director for Electrotechnical Services.

“In this financial year starting from July 2023, we had 379 registered streetlights and cables that were vandalised and/or stolen up to the end of January 2023. These incidents leave areas in the dark and impact negatively on the security of the neighbourhoods and the provision of quality service delivery to the residents,” Mandla added.

Mandla says, the most affected area is the vicinity of the George central business district and a recent spike of incidents occurred at York, Palgrave, Skool, Cradock, and Meade Streets, basically the whole of George South and the town centre.

He says the vandalism is a deterrent to the ongoing maintenance of infrastructure, and it appears that the ongoing load shedding inadvertently aids the occurrence of vandalism. “Daily maintenance is being done on streetlights, but the vandalised areas must be visited repeatedly. The damages happen at night, and it is evident that load shedding has a contributing factor as some areas which were left on or repaired the previous day, were reported to be damaged soon thereafter.”

The funds that are currently used to repair or replace vandalised and stolen cable can be better utilised and be steered towards George residents who do not yet have adequate lighting. This, therefore, robs citizens of quality and adequate services.

“Even though there is an existing tender for replacement or maintenance of cabling, the procurement process of the stolen or vandalised items is also negatively affected as there is the lead time for some of the items, and with the increase in vandalism and theft, it does negatively impact our stock levels and we try to continuously keep spares. But if it is not halted, it could result in even longer delays for some critical materials.

To curb vandalism, there is a technology we are introducing soon for theft identification linked to response time, this will help to apprehend the thieves. We are also rolling out the pole replacement projects, which are targeted at the high-impact areas, where the drive is to replace the wooden poles with newly designed steel poles. These new poles are designed to deter vandals and thieves by raising the points of access used by them to vandalise or steal cables. It must be noted that given the thousands of poles, the prioritised high-risk areas are the focus while the roll-out to other areas will follow thereafter. Partaking in both the theft identification system and the newly designed streetlight poles rollout, the municipality is making it more difficult for vandals and thieves to continue their activities.

The Municipality continues to report vandalism incidents to the South African Police Service (SAPS), and dockets are opened for investigation.

We appeal to the citizens of George to assist in curbing these indents by reporting incidents to official communication channels of the George Municipality and the police. Vandalism is a crime and ultimately costs ratepayers, money. Vandalism also results in communities being deprived of services.

The public is requested to please report people tampering, painting, breaking, or stealing municipal property with the SAPS and George Municipality Law Enforcement (044 801 6350 or 044 801 6300 after hours) as soon as you see it happening. If you can take pictures of the culprits in the act without endangering yourself, it will help a lot. Thank you in advance for helping us protect our infrastructure.

George Municipality offers a reward of R2500 for information that leads to the successful conviction of vandalism in a court of law. The informant will provide their details to relevant authorities. The informant will not be required to testify as the municipality will protect the identity of the informant. Please report to 0860 044 044 to be eligible for the reward.

The Municipality was unfortunately compelled to temporarily close the Workers Collection Point (WCP) in August 2022 due to ongoing safety challenges and concern for the well-being of the staff. Following a risk assessment that was conducted and addressed at the facility, the George Municipality is happy to announce that the workers’ collection point services have resumed, and the facility is operational again as of Monday this week.

“The WCP was established for private individuals and businesses to make use of it as a central point for those who wish to employ temporary workers,” said Dr Kosie Haarhof, Deputy Director of Strategic Growth and Development, in the George Municipality.

The WCP is situated at 12 Industrial Street, George Industrial and operates between 07:45 and 15:00, Monday to Friday. It is staffed by the following two officials from the Planning and Development Department

Kevin Abrahams, Email: kabrahams@george.gov.za;

Ongeziwe Mthongwana, Email: omthongwana@george.gov.za

For enquiries, please phone the office on 044 801 9173.

Ends.

A local hip-hop artist (Leigh-Muir Booysen) has created a song as part of the Garden Route District Municipality Illegal Dumping Campaign.

Intro:

Just pause
Just pause

Verse

Stop, stop illegal dumping/
Don’t do it, bro, let me tell you one thing/

It’s sad to see how it affects our country/
Sadly, it all starts in our community/

Killing our land, I see people writing eulogies/
Dumping garbage in the sea,
Knowingly killing our fish/

We are the cause of environmental pain/
So if you are feeling guilty,
Just listen to what I’m saying/

I’m trying to explain,
What you gotta do/
Don’t litter, man,
I’m telling you now,
That ain’t cool/

It’s crucial to our faith
We gotta make a change,
Let’s keep our planet safe/
We can’t just sit and watch
as the planet goes to waste/
There are many ways to do it, let me show you the ways/
We gotta pave the way for our next generation/
Avoid using paper,
Make use of digital payslips/

It’s easy, just throw your waste in a bin/
Recycle, and get money,
It’s a win-win, ah/
One hand washes the other hand/
Let’s work together for a cleaner and a greener land/

Hook:

Just pause/
And throw it in a bin/
It’s easy, just throw it in the bin/

David Viviers, an actor, and author of the book Mirage read a snippet from his book as part of World Read Aloud Day. The book is available as an eBook on Libby, the library app that can be downloaded by all registered Library users.

Please see videos of David Viviers reading his book:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ilh9KqwUo

The George Municipality’s move to explore alternative energy-generating sources is gaining impetus, as the Executive Mayor of George Alderman Leon van Wyk accompanied by the Municipality’s Electrotechnical Services team participated in a Wheeling and Trading Symposium that was held on Wednesday, 8 February 2023 at the Hawthorn Boutique Hotel in George, in partnership with a private electricity trading company, Enpower Trading.

Energy Wheeling is generally defined as the delivery of electricity generated by a private operator in one location to a buyer or off-taker in another location via a third-party network (Utility or Municipality). Therefore, the George Municipality intends to do wheeling services to explore available energy sources, steering them towards the Municipal grid, while also looking at a cheaper cost of electricity than Eskom’s current cost. With all the privately generated energy coming into the grid, the Municipality hopes to lessen reliance on Eskom as well as become energy secure.

The speakers and panellists during the discussions were Phillip van Niekerk from the hosts, Enpower Trading, Jeandre van Zyl from Solar Energy Africa, Gerjo Hoffman from Open Access Energy, Josh Dippenaar from Sustainable Energy Africa, Nhlanhla Ngidi from SALGA, Bernhard Teuteberg from DEDAT Western Cape and Jemaine Cupido from Bitou Municipality facilitated the proceedings of the symposium.

The Symposium attracted representatives from the energy sector and companies from George and other parts of the Country, Municipalities from the Garden Route District such as Mossel Bay, Bitou, Oudtshoorn, Hessequa and Knysna as well as Municipalities outside the district such as Swellendam Municipality, Nelson Mandela Bay Metro from the City of Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, and the Executive Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla of Msunduzi Municipality from the City of Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.

Welcoming the attendees, the Executive Mayor of George Alderman Leon van Wyk said in his opening remarks that the unreliability of Eskom’s electricity supply and the increasing intensity of load shedding is causing huge disruption and damage across many production sections and the economy. “From a municipal perspective, our KWH sales have naturally declined even with households having to do their chores at times when electricity is available.”

“While we are encountering power supply disruption, we need to look to innovation to take us forward into new opportunities. Today we will be discussing Wheeling. This new topic is the disruptive radical change that will take us forward into a new era of trading in electricity, creating generating facilities and transporting electricity to where it is needed,” van Wyk added.

“I am very proud of our team here in George which has moved the boundaries in their quest to find solutions. Last year as a team we set new challenges in saying we needed to mitigate the risks that our municipal infrastructure faced, i.e., water treatment works, wastewater treatment works, and pump stations during load shedding. As 2022 progressed we also concluded that the Solar PV route needed to be supplemented by the rapid introduction of Battery Energy Storage.”

The first wheeling transaction took place in May 2022 at George Municipality, following the signing of the use-of-system agreements in July 2021. The billing process has for many years been done manually, requiring extensive time for verification and preparation of bills once the data was retrieved from the meters.

“The need for this freely licensed software pilot became evident when we considered wheeling and renewable energy scaling on the George Municipality’s electricity grid. The manual billing process was one of the main challenges and resolving this meant reducing reliance and pressure on key human resources, reducing potential errors that could occur in the billing process,” said Mr Bongani Mandla, the director of electrotechnical services at George Municipality.

Mr Bongani Mandla highlighted that the current George Municipality wheeling pilot consists of trade between one generator and four off-takers through Enpower Trading (a NERSA licensed Energy Trader) and this entire process has now been automated using Open Access Energy’s software.

“The Municipality is working on further improvements to its wheeling projects and to incentivise the private sector (both generators and off-takers) to participate in this program. These include creating a platform for customers to view their accounts and access their consumption and billing data in real-time on a portal, working with DEDAT Western Cape Government to speed up standardising the use-of-system contracts as well as moving from the 30-minute reconciliation to a Time-of-Use reconciliation by latest end of March 2023,” Mandla concluded.

Gerjo Hoffman (Chief-Executive-Officer and co-founder at Open Access Energy), Phillip van Niekerk (EnPower Trading), Cllr. Mzimkhulu Thebolla (Executive Mayor of Msunduzi Municipality from the City of Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal), Ald Leon van Wyk (Executive Mayor of George), Bongani Mandla (Director for Electrotechnical Services – George Municipality) Jeandre van Zyl (Solar Energy Africa), Josh Dippenaar (Sustainable Energy Africa) and Jemaine Cupido (Bitou Municipality)

Jemaine Cupido (Facilitator from Bitou Municipality), Gerjo Hoffman (Chief-Executive-Officer and co-founder at Open Access Energy), Josh Dippenaar (Sustainable Energy Africa), Phillip van Niekerk (EnPower Trading), and Jeandre van Zyl (Solar Energy Africa)

George Municipality received a Budget Facility for Infrastructure Funding (BFI) grant to the value of R1.107 billion from the National Treasury in the 2021/22 financial year. The BFI project with its various components has shown significant progress and expenditure to date in the 2022/23 financial year. George Municipality is actively working to keep our economy on the go – by ensuring adequate long-term planning and investment in our resources  – that is water, sewerage and electricity.

The full BFI project is to be completed in the next thirty (30) months. George Municipality provides water services to over 212 120 residents from 62 722 households (STATSSA 2017) across 28 wards including the coastal areas of Kleinkrantz, Wilderness, Victoria Bay, Herold’s Bay and Gwaing in the city of George area. The objectives of the project are to ensure adequate potable water supply to meet the demand of the current population and to provide security for future development, both social and economic, and to reduce pollution of certain main water courses.

Updates on the Potable Water Security and Remedial Works components funded by BFI
The project consists of 12 components, some of which will be executed in more than one construction phase.

Component 1 and 2
The 20 Ml/d extension to the New Water Treatment Works (New WTW) is component 2 of the 12.

Status: The first contract, valued at R263 million, has been awarded for the civil engineering works and construction has commenced on site. The tender for the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation (MEI) works was awarded R217 million. Component 2  is the largest single component of the BFI project

Earthworks have been completed, with the major excavation for the WTW extension consisting of some 20 000 metric cubes of earth material stockpiled on site for re-use elsewhere on other components of the BFI project as well as other municipal projects. The placing of concrete is progressing well and the structures are now above ground level.

The construction on the 600m long, 900mm diameter, clear water HDPE pipeline commenced towards the end of 2022 and is currently nearing 50% completion. The forestry permit was issued in early January 2023 and the remaining construction throughthe  sensitive indigenous forest can now proceed.

The dewatering facility for the water treatment process residuals (not sludge) is also progressing well and the concrete wall of the first of three tanks was cast at the end of January 2023. This forms part of component 2 of the BFI project and will eliminate the residuals from being discharged to the sewer system and therefore reduce the load on the sewage conveyance system andpump stationss, as well as reduce the load on the wastewater treatment processes and the main sludge dewatering facility.

Meul Pumpstation Inlet Works 

Component 3
The refurbishment of the existing Sludge Discharge System Phase 1 and 2 will take place at the Eden, Meul and SchaapkopPump stationss.

Status: Construction of the first phase is progressing well at the Meul and Eden Pump Stations

Phase 1: The first phase of the upgrading and refurbishment of the Meul Sewagepump stationn is underway and certain components have been completed, including a standby generator and new motor control centre panels. This is also the case for the new Motor Control Centre at the Eden Sewagepump stationn. Civil construction on the Meul SewagePump stationn is progressing well with challenging conditions having to be managed with regular flooding of the works occurring during high rainfall events. Phase 1 of the Schaapkop Sewage Pumpstation implementation was delayed, and the design process isunderwayy to incorporate both phases 1 and 2 to be implemented as a single project.

Phase 2: Consultants have been appointed for the design of the second phase of the pump station upgrades of the three sewage pump stations.

Component 4
The upgrading of the Garden Route Dam Outlet and Supply project includes the replacement of the existing 600 mm diameter raw water pipeline from the intake tower at the Garden Route Dam to the raw waterpump stations, with a new 800 mm diameter stainless steel pipeline to accommodate a higher flowratebyh the future raw water flow requirements.

Status: The project is currently in the procurement stage, with construction tenders closing mid-February 2023, and construction potentially commencing in May 2023.

Component 5
2 x 1250 kVA generators will be installed at the Garden Route Dam raw water pumpstation. This will mean that during loadshedding or any other power outage, raw water can continue to be pumped uninterrupted to the Water Treatment Works for processing for drinking water supply.

Status: The construction contract has been awarded and construction is progressing well.  The delivery of the generators to the site is expected by mid-February 2023, with the full operation of the generators scheduled for the end of June 2023.

New Water Treatment Works clear water pipeline construction.

Component 6
An additional 30 mega litre raw water storage balancing dam will be constructed, that includes a 340m long 800mm diameter raw water pipeline, to secure sufficient raw water storage capacity to supply the 20Ml/day extension to the Water Treatment Works. The new raw water dam will supplement the existing storage dams that provide raw water to the two water treatment plants.

Status: The preliminary design process has been completed with consideration of two alternative positions in order to select the most cost-effective solution. Final designs are nearing completion, to be followed by the procurement of a Contractor to construct the works.

Component 7
The rehabilitation of the Old Water Treatment Works, located at 9th Avenue Denneoord will allow for the refurbishment of the 25 Ml/d treatment plant which is currently rated at only 20.5 Ml/ per day.

Status: This component consists of four separate contracts and the tenders were awarded at the beginning of 2022. Construction is under way at the Old WTW and some condition assessments of the existing infrastructure necessitated design changes at the start of the contract, causing unforeseen delays. The air extraction from the filter galleries was completed and the emergency chlorine scrubbers have been ordered. Both shipments of filter media arrived in 2022 and fence construction is under way.

A temporary package water treatment plant was installed and commissioned in mid-December 2022 to facilitate scheduled plant shutdowns to enable work to proceed uninterrupted. This temporary plant also increased the volume of potable water available to meet the peak holiday season demand.

Component 8
Refurbishment of the Kaaimans River Pumpstation equipment will include the installation of 6 new submersible vortex impeller pumps in the sump, a strainer system and 6 new high lift centrifugal pumps and includes the replacement of the electrical control equipment. The Kaaimans Pumpstation discharges into the Garden Route Dam and contributes significantly to the George raw water resource requirements.

Status: The project is currently in the procurement phase, with tenders closing in February 2023, and it is anticipated that construction will commence in May 2023.

Component 9 and 10
The new 14,5 Ml Pacaltsdorp West Reservoir; 3 Ml Pacaltsdorp East Reservoir, 300 kl Tower and pumpstation will address the inadequate emergency and balancing storage in this suburb.

Status: The designs are in process, to be followed by the procurement of a contractor for the construction of the works. The detailed design process will be aligned with the environmental and town planning processes.

Residual tank construction.

Component 11 and 12
A new pumpstation and control valves will be provided at the existing Thembalethu West reservoir and tower; a new 8 Ml Thembalethu East Reservoir, 1000 kl tower and pumpstation will provide adequate potable water storage and increase security of potable water supply to Thembalethu as well as provide capacity to meet future development water demands.

Status: The design of the works is in progress and will be followed by the procurement of a contractor for the construction of the works.

The George Council tabled stricter water restrictions to curb the excess use of potable water (treated drinking water) in December 2022. Knowing how to read your water meter and monitoring it is a simple way of keeping track of how much water is being used on your property and can help prevent water wasted through undetected leaks and avoid unexpected high bills.

George experienced below-average rainfall in 2022 and the Garden Route Dam is currently at 63.82% (based on the raised dam wall). There is a real risk of another below-average winter rainfall season ahead, so we need to keep our dams fuller for longer. The continued load-shedding contributes to the disruption of drinking water production and we need to conserve what we have in our reservoirs.

How to read your meter?

• Open your water meter box. If the lid is closed, you can usually open it gently with something like a screwdriver. Please be careful not to break the lid.
• No matter what type of water meter it is, the black numbers represent thousands of litres, called kilolitres, and red numbers represent litres.
• Water charges are based on the number of kilolitres of water used on the property every month. If you are submitting your own readings to the City (e.g., if your meter is difficult for meter readers to access), you only need to supply the black numbers when submitting your reading.
• Water meters continually record the amount of water that passes into a property throughout the lifespan of the meter. The tally on the meter does not reset from month to month. Subtract the previous reading from your current reading to determine usage for the period between readings.
• Please email your water meter readings along with the account holder’s name, contact details and GRG account number and date of reading to meterreadings@george.gov.za.
• Please note that meter readings are done per area at different times of the month, and it is important that your meter reading email is submitted around the same time as your area’s reading time. Please check the date of the previous reading at the bottom of your account to determine your meter reading slot.

Monitoring your meter readings to check how much you’re using or to confirm a leak?

• Check by how much the numbers on the meter increase to see how much water is being used. Monitor this on a regular basis e.g., weekly or monthly, and keep a written record.
• To check if you have a leak, first stop all water use in the house (tightly close all taps) and note how much the meter reading is. Then wait about 15 minutes and check the meter reading again. If the numbers have gone up, it means you probably have a leak.
• One leaking toilet can waste between 2600 – 13 000 litres of water per month, and one leaking tap can waste between 400 – 2600 litres of water per month.

What are our Water Restrictions and how do they affect your household?

1. Every household is now limited to using 15 kilolitres of water per month. Emergency tariffs will be charged for any household which uses more than 15kl.
2. Businesses dependent on municipal water, including commercial car washes must reduce their use of water by 15% of their past 6-month average.
3. Large industry must reduce their use of municipal water by 10% of their past 6-month average.
4. Gardens can be watered any time of the day but only with watering cans or buckets, no hosepipes are allowed.
5. The Irrigation or watering of ALL sport fields using municipal water is prohibited.
6.  Washing of vehicles with a garden hose is prohibited. Only buckets are allowed.
7. Cleaning of any outside surface areas using a water hose is prohibited.
8. Filling up of swimming pools with municipal water is prohibited.
9. Applications for exemption can be submitted to the Deputy Director Water for consideration.
10. Those making use of their own water must display a visible sign stating, “Own Water”.
    (Please see www.george.gov.za for the full list of proposed restrictions.)

Treated Effluent and Raw Water for irrigation or construction purposes is available and details can be requested from the Directorate: Civil Engineering Services (gvanniekerk@george.gov.za)

Report contraventions of the current Water Restrictions on 0800 424477 – fines apply.
Report all water leaks on 044 801 9262/66 or A/ h 044 801 6300

Water Leaks can also be reported at your nearest Area Office or Thusong Centre, emailed to gmun@george.gov.za , via the Municipal App or phoned in to 044 801 9311.

Photograph for illustration only.

In the group photograph are the Executive Mayor for George, Leon van Wyk (centre) standing next to Pall Rikhardsson (From Iceland, CEO of Planet Youth), CEO Planet Youth Iceland (left of Ald Van Wyk, grey suit) at the launch today held in the George Civic. The programme is a joint operation by various western cape government departments, the University of Cape Town and various NGO’s and public partners.

Planet Youth, a whole-of-society programme focussed on mental health, was launched today 3 February 2023 in George.

The programme, coordinated by the departments of Health, Education and Cultural Affairs and Sports is an Icelandic prevention concept that has proved success in reducing substance abuse and is designed to strengthen protective factors and building healthy communities, especially young people.

“The Planet Youth programme being launched in the George subdistrict of the Garden Route provides us with a unique opportunity to positively influence the lives of our young people. The programme relies on intersectoral partnerships, interconnectedness with our communities and a whole-of-society approach to ensure that our youth reach their ultimate potential and realise their dreams. The coordinating team comprising representatives from various departments and spheres of government has been hard at work to set the scene for the good work that is to follow. Collectively, we look forward to the positive impact the programme will have on our communities at large,” said District Director for the Garden Route and Central Karoo health districts, Mr Zee Brickles.

“This concept has already kicked off with trial surveys at Jonga High, Thembalethu High and Pacaltsdorp High School in 2022. The official roll-out of the programme to the schools in George will take place in February 2023. We will start with a survey of all the Grade 8 and 9 learners of George, Uniondale and Haarlem this month. This will be followed by school and community meetings to assess the results of the surveys and identify possible community programmes to address the issues identified. A Convenors Group has been established, with the Department of Health, George Municipality, departments of Education, Cultural Affairs and Sports, Social Development, University of Cape Town, SAPS and several non-governmental organisations,” said Dr Zilla North, Medical Manager for the George subdistrict.

The aim of the programme is to enrol all children in George across the subdistrict in activities that promote protective factors to develop healthy futures. The local community aims to achieve significant reduction in youth alcohol harms which will be measured as decreased school dropout rates, improved school academic performance, and a reduction in violence. This is projected to alleviate the burden on the overwhelmed mental healthcare system, correctional services, judiciary, education and social development.

“I am very excited and proud that the Planet Youth programme is being launched in George. I had the opportunity to meet and engage with the core team that will be driving the introduction of this whole of society programme. Planet Youth will provide our youth in George with the opportunity to become part of the anticipated benefits ranging from wellness and employment, to food security and cultural and sporting achievements”, said Executive Mayor Mr Leon van Wyk

The local community aims to improve employment rates by producing employment-ready youth. By applying the Planet Youth vision of positioning the school as the hub, reducing the economic and social harms of youth substance use and by increasing employment rates, the local community aims to significantly improve food security in affected communities. It is also aiming to achieve a significant increase in sporting and cultural achievement which will improve mental health, physical well-being and competitiveness in affected schools.

Background to Planet Youth Programme:

Planet Youth George is a WOSA (whole-of-society approach) platform for community collaboration that aims to improve mental health by reducing youth substance use, violence, and school dropout rates using an evidence-based and internationally tested approach of youth development activities, community empowerment and rigorous auditing.

Planet Youth inc. is an international organisation, working in many countries worldwide, developed and underdeveloped, to alleviate alcohol harms in adolescence with benefits across the life course.

Planet Youth and the University of Cape Town commenced the George Planet Youth Programme in October 2022.

Core principles of the Planet Youth community programme

• The programme utilises an intersectoral approach involving a multitude of NGOs, enterprises, and departments of government using a WOSA  approach.
• The programme is a long-term investment with sustainable long-term outcomes (at least 10 years).
• The programme is community based, with schools becoming hubs of afterschool sports, cultural, food security and community development activities. Schools will collaborate with parents and organisations to engage them in encouraging youth participation and fostering good parenting techniques.
• The programme develops local expertise and skills to maintain the quality improvement cycles that are initiated.
• The programme will be rigorously audited through bi-annual surveys and reports to quantify the impact of interventions and guide further efforts.

South Cape Children’s Choir, an amateur regional children’s choir based in George performed and finished the programme of the day with an unusual and stirring rendition of the national anthem.

Issued by George Municipality, on behalf of the Western Cape Department of Health

The Planet Youth delegates visited the Executive Mayor of George, Ald Leon van Wyk on Wednesday, 1 February 2023. The Department of Health and Wellness is launching a whole of society programme focused on mental health called “Planet Youth”. The Planet Youth Concept is an Icelandic Prevention Concept, that has proved a success in reducing substance abuse and is designed to strengthen protective factors building healthy communities, especially for young people.

This concept has already kicked off with trial surveys at Jonga High, Thembalethu High and Pacaltsdorp High School this year. The official roll-out of the programme to the schools in George and Uniondale will occur after the launinrom February 2023. A Convenors Group has been established, with the Department of Health, George Municipality, Departments of Education, Sports, Arts and Cultural Affairs, Social Development, University of Cape Town, SAPS and several Non-Governmental Organisations.

Background to Planet Youth Programme:

Planet Youth George is a WOSA (Whole of Society Approach) platform for community collaboration that aims to improve mental health by reducing youth substance use, violence, and school dropout rates using an evidence-based and internationally tested approach of youth development activities, community empowerment and rigorous auditing.

Planet Youth inc. is an international organization, working in many countries worldwide, developed, and underdeveloped, to alleviate alcohol harms in adolescence with benefits across the life course.

Planet Youth and UCT commenced the George Planet Youth Programme in October 2022.

Aims of the Planet Youth community program

By engaging with Planet Youth:

1. The community of George aims to enroll all children across the subdistrict in mass participation to proactively develop health and wellness.
2. The local community aims to achieve a significant reduction in youth alcohol harms which will be measured as decreased school dropout rates, improved school academic performance, and a reduction in violence. This is projected to alleviate the burden on the overwhelmed mental healthcare system, correctional services, judiciary, education and social development.
3. The local community aims to improve employment rates by producing employment-ready youth.
4. Applying the Planet Youth view of positioning the school as the hub, reducing the economic and social harms of youth substance use and by increasing employment rates, the local community aims to significantly improve food security in affected communities.
5. The local community aims to achieve a significant increase in sporting and cultural achievement which will improve mental health, physical well-being and competitiveness in affected schools.

Ends.

CAPTION:

FROM LEFT: Dr Zilla North (Department of Education), Dehran Swart (UCT), Lynn Le Grange (Department of Education), Councillor Raybin Figland (Executive Deputy Mayor of George), Alderman Leon van Wyk (Executive Mayor of George), Pall Rikhardsson (From Iceland, CEO of Planet Youth), Dr Herman Reuter (UCT and Sahara), Jonel Kerspuy (Planet Youth Programme)

In January, municipalities reflect not only on the results of the first half of the current financial year but also on the previous financial year that ended on 30 June.

We have achieved another clean audit for the 2021/22 financial year. This is an important achievement as it helps in our endeavours to procure additional grant funding to further improve our infrastructure. As our municipality grows and we successfully implement and maintain our infrastructure while ensuring good governance, we progressively seek to qualify for larger grants that are also earmarked for the larger intermediate and metropolitan cities.

Our draft annual report for 2021/22 which provides an insight into the past year’s activities and achievements is in an advanced state of preparation prior to public release.

During the July-December 2022 period, it is already evident how load-shedding has impacted negatively on revenue through lower electricity sales resulting from not having Eskom power for 6-10 hours per day. Businesses are also likely to be similarly affected. To exacerbate this further, there are additional costs associated with the diesel purchased to operate generators at the various water and wastewater treatment plants and pump stations.

Through the gloom of load-shedding, we recently received indications that an international company will shortly commence business operations in George and start hiring and training staff. I also had the privilege along with a few senior colleagues to attend a presentation by Harvard University’s Growth Lab team on how they utilise data on business activities to focus on potential economic sectors that can provide strong growth opportunities for a city. Although George falls outside of the 1022 cities worldwide with populations of over 300000 that are already incorporated into their data sets, the Growth Lab already has access to some relevant data on George. This presentation will no doubt spur our outreach to gain insight into business sectors that could grow employment in our economy.

Over the past weeks, we have continued our interactions with the Western Cape Government and key role-players internationally to explore the acceleration of implementing renewable energy projects that will benefit the George economy. It is crucial too that the business and agricultural sectors, in particular, engage with us on their challenges with load-shedding to maintain their production levels. It is becoming important for business to communicate their electricity capacity needs as we jointly search for solutions through collaboration and partnerships. The challenges include technical feasibility, the ability to connect to the grid, environmental approvals, legislative requirements, funding sources and identifying a range of power suppliers.

Stakeholders with challenges or parties who are interested in offering practical solutions are welcome to use the supportbusiness@george.gov.za email address as a point of contact to facilitate a discussion.

Ald Leon van Wyk

Executive Mayor of George

The Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) Blue Drop programme which was established to encourage continued progress and to acknowledge excellence in drinking water services management in South Africa is in progress, and the George Municipality`s first round of evaluations took place from Tuesday 17 January to Wednesday 18 January 2023.

The Blue Drop and Green Drop Certification Programmes are forms of Incentive-based Regulation (IBR) pioneered by the South African Water Sector since 2008. legislation, Water Services Act; Act 108 of 1997, Section 82 d, e & f. The programme seeks to focus on Improvement in Performance, Compliance and Efficiency.

According to the Deputy Director for Water and Sanitation in the Civil Engineering Services Department in the George Municipality, Deon de Jager, the Blue Drop Certification is intended to monitor the drinking water quality supplied to consumers countrywide. “Both water quality and administrative aspects are combined in this certification with the emphasis being on the administrative aspects instead of water quality and George has put all the ducks in a row to be evaluated.”

“The first-round assessments for the upcoming Blue Drop evaluations were held on 17 and 18 January 2023.  After the first-round evaluations, the DWS will, if necessary, allow the George Municipality to implement and report on corrective measures to be implemented, to enable the Municipality to correct and submit the required information,” de Jager added.  The second-round discussions on the corrective measures will take place on 28 February 2023 after which the George Municipality will receive (if successful) its final Blue Drop certification/score.

De Jager confirmed that the revised water safety plans and treatment plant process audits have been completed, and the George Municipality was assisted by IX Engineers and Chris Swartz consultants.  “All relevant personnel reporting to DWS have been registered on the IRIS reporting system.  The George Municipal Water Treatment and Laboratory sections are working around the clock to ensure that we comply with all legislative requirements as set out by the DWS.  Furthermore, the George Municipality is still in the process of performing process audits on all its raw and potable water pump stations, towers, and storage reservoirs.”

Ends.

CAPTION:

From Left to Right: Deon de Jager (Deputy Director: Water and Sewer Services), Melvin Koopman (Senior Superintendent: Water Treatment), Geoffrey Bredenkamp (Manager:  Water Treatment), Dewald van Staden (DWS Lead Inspector), Nkosinathi Masilela (Inspector DWS), Tladi Dineo (Inspector DWS), Randy Wesso (Manager Laboratory Services), Alton Michaels (Consultant SMEC Engineering Group)

TO ALL
MEDIA/NEWS EDITORS

SATURDAY 21 JANUARY 2023

NATIONAL ENERGY CRISIS COMMITTEE RELEASES SIX-MONTH PROGRESS UPDATE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ENERGY ACTION PLAN

The National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) has today, 21 January 2023, released a six-month progress update on implementation of the Energy Action Plan.

This update follows a period of load shedding which was escalated to stage 6 due to a high number of breakdowns across Eskom’s generation fleet.

The declining Energy Availability Factor of Eskom’s fleet reflects the cumulative impact of historical underinvestment in maintenance and assets, exacerbated by flaws in the design of new power stations in the last decade.

To respond to the severe impact of load shedding on households, small businesses and the economy as a whole, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a range of measures in July 2022 to improve the performance of existing power stations and add new generation capacity as quickly as possible.

The Energy Action Plan was developed through extensive consultation and endorsed by energy experts as providing the best and fastest path towards energy security.

The NECOM has since been established to coordinate government’s response and ensure swift implementation of the plan.

During the past week, the President has convened the NECOM in order to accelerate government’s efforts to reduce load shedding. He has also engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including political parties, labour unions, business associations, community groups, interfaith leaders, traditional leaders, premiers and mayors to ensure a collective response to this national challenge.

The progress update released today outlines important steps that have been taken to follow through on the commitments announced by the President.

These include:
– Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act has been amended to remove the licensing requirement for generation projects, which will significantly accelerate private investment.
– Since the licensing threshold was first raised to 100 MW, the pipeline of private sector projects has grown to more than 100 projects with over 9000 MW of capacity. The first of these large-scale projects are expected to connect to the grid by the end of this year.
– The NECOM has instructed departments to cut red tape and streamline regulatory processes for energy projects, including reducing the timeframe for environmental authorisations to 57 days from over 100 days previously; reducing the registration process from four months to three weeks; and ensuring that grid connection approvals are provided within six months.
– Project agreements for 19 projects from Bid Window 5 and six projects from Bid Window 6 of the renewable energy programme, representing 2800 MW of new capacity. These projects will soon proceed to construction.
– A new Ministerial determination has been published for 14771 MW of new generation capacity from wind, solar and battery storage to accelerate further bid windows.
– An additional 300 MW has been imported through the Southern African Power Pool, and negotiations are underway to secure a potential 1,000 MW from neighbouring countries starting this year.
– Eskom has developed and launched a programme to purchase power from companies with available generation capacity through a standard offer. The first contracts are expected to be signed in the coming weeks.
– A team of independent experts has been established to work closely with Eskom to diagnose the problems at poorly performing power stations and take action to improve plant performance.

Six power stations have been identified for particular focus over the coming months through a comprehensive Generation Recovery Plan, with oversight from the new Eskom board.

While the power system remains constrained in the short term, these measures will reduce the frequency and severity of load shedding as new capacity is brought online.

President Ramaphosa said: “South Africans are right to demand immediate action to address the devastating impact of load shedding on our lives and on the economy.

“The Energy Action Plan provides a clear way out of this crisis. We do not need any new plans – we are focusing on implementing this plan fully and effectively to achieve energy security for all South Africans.”

The President has further instructed law enforcement agencies to ramp up efforts to protect electricity infrastructure.

A special meeting of the National Security Council will be convened in the next week to receive a report on operations underway to disrupt criminal syndicates and address theft and sabotage at several power stations.

Addressing the ongoing shortfall in electricity remains government’s single most important priority.

Further updates will be provided on a regular basis regarding progress in implementing the Energy Action Plan.

The full update can be accessed at http://bit.ly/3D4243A

Media enquiries:

Vincent Magwenya,
Spokesperson to the President

ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

www.thepresidency.gov.za

As we reflect with gratitude on George’s busy holiday season and its benefits for the economy and employment, we are immediately confronted with Eskom’s Stage 6 loadshedding disaster at a time when industry, business and schools are only beginning to return to work after the holidays.

Stage 6 is extremely debilitating for businesses and households alike. Electrical equipment is not designed for ongoing loadshedding and requires ongoing maintenance; diesel costs for generators approximate R120 000 per day; crime and vandalism also thrive under cover of darkness. Water and waste-water networks are constantly at risk. Teams are therefore at full stretch.

In March 2022, Council already took decisions to spend R220m over three years to start providing electricity security. As 8-10% of our bulk purchases of electricity are used on our own municipal infrastructure, we decided to procure Solar PV plants for these installations as a first step towards reducing our reliance on Eskom to avoid Stage 1 of loadshedding with the objective to avoid Stage 2 within the next 2-3 years.

We also decided to procure generators to ensure that important installations could still operate during loadshedding. These include the water and waste- water treatment works as well as key pump stations with many generators already operational. Uninterrupted power supply units were installed to ensure that traffic lights at 60 intersections could continue functioning. We have started installing energy efficient streetlights. Extensive preventative maintenance has been undertaken on the electricity network.

The procurement for 1,9MW of Solar PV plants is approaching the construction stage. The environmental approval process for the 9MW plant is underway which should permit construction to commence after July 2023.

It has now become clear that decisions on the early introduction of battery energy storage options are necessary. Technical solutions are being sought to integrate battery energy into sub-stations and the electricity network. The municipality is seeking technical and funding advice from leading specialists.

Various scenarios involving capital expenditure of R750m-R1500m to avoid up to Stages 3-4 of loadshedding within 3 years have been prepared. For George to avoid the implementation of Stage 1 loadshedding, we need to reduce Eskom’s current load availability of 85MW by 13MW. It is clearly in the interests of all citizens that this is urgently achieved. Every household can assist by requesting the municipality to lower their domestic 60amp usage capacity to 40 amps or below. These measures can reduce load capacity by 5-6MW and thereby contribute to bringing forward the avoiding of Stage 1 loadshedding.

As we strive to alleviate the loadshedding burden for users, the municipality will shortly be meeting with large business electricity users to explore innovative and collaborative solutions.

Ald Leon van Wyk

Executive Mayor of George