More than R88 million has been allocated from the Western Cape Provincial Unforeseen and Unavoidable Reserve Fund to assist municipalities to procure emergency diesel generators to be used for water treatment, water distribution and wastewater systems during times of prolonged load-shedding.

The municipalities with the highest allocations are George Municipality which received R14 million; the Swartland Municipality received almost R11 million, Overstrand Municipality received R6.7 million, and the Drakenstein and Stellenbosch Municipalities that received R6 million each.

Overstrand Municipality utilized the R6.7 million and its own contribution of R4.7 million for the purchase and installation of nine generators at various facilities.

Generators were installed at all nine facilities. Seven generators are fully operational and the remaining two generators at Mossel River sewerage pump station and Palmiet River raw booster water pump station in Kleinmond, require additional equipment to stabilise the changeovers between Eskom and generator power. A separate procurement process, utilising municipal funds, had to be followed and is underway.

It is envisaged that the operation and maintenance of the additional generators can put pressure on the Municipality’s operational budget. The extent will depend on the actual stages of load-shedding implemented by Eskom over time.