It may be possible to reduce electrical cable theft, train service disruptions and municipal power wastage by using a simple and currently available solution.
Although theft of electrical cables, disruption of train serivces and street light testing by municipalities have burdened the economy for many years, a simple solution may provide relief for all of these.
Electrical cable theft causes direct losses through material and labour for repairs, and indirect losses through disruption of transport and commerce.
When municipalities work on street lights, they need to turn on whole streets or blocks at a time for testing. This gets done even if only one light needed maintenance, significantly wasting electricity.
Yet, there may be a way of addressing these problems simply and affordably.
The remedy lies in keeping electrical circuits permanently powered, but switching off electrical appliances when not needed. A number of technologies already make this possible, including power-line communications as currently deployed by Eskom in its domestic geyser ripple control programme.
When electrical circuits are known to be permanently powered, thieves are believed to be discouraged from cutting and hauling out the live cables.
Reduced cable theft reduces cable losses and maintenance to electrical circuits. It will also reduce disruptions to transport services and business.
The ability to remotely control appliances makes it possible for railways to operate signalling equipment that works off permanently powered electricity supplies.
This facility will also make it possible for municipalities to turn on individual street lights for testing whilst all circuits to all lights remain permanently powered and protected.
How feasible is this? The answer lies in how much it will cost to deploy remote control devices, compared to how much cable losses, maintenance to cables, disruption to public transport and damage to the economy can be reduced.
Who are the role-players who need to investigate this? Certainly Eskom, Metro Rail, PRASA, local government and perhaps also central government.
Who in these organisations need to be contacted? I have no idea! If you do, kindly forward them this suggestion?
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