Private businesses to the rescue again

Property group Redefine has become the latest private company to rescue failed public services by supplying additional electricity to help keep traffic lights on in Sandton.
The group announced a new partnership with the City of Joburg’s road agency (JRA) and the Sandton Central Management District to join the ‘Traffic Signal Secondary Power Initiative’.
Through the partnership, Redefine’s South African Real Estate Investment Trust will feed excess power generated by the group’s alternative sources to keep traffic lights on at some of Sandton’s busiest intersections.
“Amidst (Sandton’s) remarkable achievements, it grapples with the relentless challenges posed by load shedding, which significantly impacts its bustling streets and congestion-prone areas,” the group said.
By using existing infrastructure, Redefine will use its building generators to power traffic lights during outages.
Focusing on four major intersections near its owned buildings, the company aims to limit the effect of load shedding on traffic flow and enhance the overall commuting experience in Sandton.
The targeted intersections include:
- Pybus and Rivonia Road,
- Katherine and West Street,
- Alice Lane and West Street in Sandton, as well as
- Jan Smuts and 7th Avenue in Rosebank.
“By participating in the Traffic Signal Secondary Power Initiative, we demonstrate our commitment to improving the overall environment in our country and directly tackling the issues caused by load shedding.”
The Traffic Signal Secondary Power Initiative was launched in March 2023 by the Sandton Central Management District District, JRA and Investec.
As the first private company to join the initiative, Investec’s generator resources have been powering the intersections at Grayston Drive and Rivonia Road, and Grayston Drive and West Road South in addition to powering its own buildings during load-shedding.
The Sandton Central Management District District is a body set up to pursue the interests of Sandton businesses, residents and commercial development, funded by the commercial property owners in the area.
Read: Government wants the private sector to fix up its broken buildings