More than 40 homes at the City of Cape Town’s R33 million Eindhoven housing project in Delft were connected to the electricity grid today, 11 April 2022.

The City celebrated with the beneficiaries of the Eindhoven housing project and officials from Eskom when the homes were switched on for the first time. The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen attended an Eskom electricity switch-on event at the housing project. Delft falls within an Eskom supply area and all homes in the project are supplied by Eskom.

The R33 million Eindhoven project provides housing opportunities to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents and prioritises affordable housing opportunities for the elderly and disabled. Once the project is completed, it will provide over 300 housing opportunities to beneficiaries.

‘Today we share this special moment with the Eindhoven beneficiaries. At this particular project, the City installed all internal electricity connections, including plug points and light switches, inside the units. However, Eskom provides the electricity supply and connects the homes to the grid. We thank all the project teams and Eskom for their hard work in connecting the residents’ homes. Legal electricity connections reduces the safety risk of open flames and safely extends the productive hours of our households, for learners to do their schoolwork and for enhanced family time. Access to electricity also opens up doors for entrepreneurship,’ said Councillor van Reenen.

‘The City’s Eindhoven project is one of our flagship housing projects in the area and we are happy to see the homes connected. Due to the typically high risk of vandalism and unlawful occupation of completed Breaking New Ground (BNG) homes, the City’s Human Settlements Directorate affords beneficiaries of its housing projects the choice to move into their homes before the electricity connections have been installed. The State-subsidised Breaking New Ground (BNG) houses are certified ready for occupation as per the Western Cape Government’s minimum building standards. Should a housing project be located in an Eskom supply area, houses are certified ready for occupation without electricity as Eskom provides electricity at a later stage as per their Standard Operating Procedures.

‘We thank Eskom and the City’s officials for their dedication in connecting the homes as quickly as possible and look forward to seeing many more homes in the project being connected to the grid over the coming months,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi.

Source: City Of Cape Town