Abstract
There are moments in time when, through seemingly simple actions, we are able to stop disaster from striking. These moments are few and far between and it is our responsibility to take action when we are presented with these opportunities. It is too late when all we are left with is the “if only” and “what if” regrets that are associated with looking back on what could have been.
Executive overview
This proposal outlines a plan to safeguard the municipal infrastructure of the Metsimaholo Local Municipality (MLM) and will focus primarily on the electrical infrastructure which is currently the main target of criminal elements.
While several ideas on this topic have been tabled by various entities in the past, none have had the success rate that the Sasolburg Gemeenskap Aksie Groep (SGAG) were able to achieve during the recent past.
Problem statement
There is no denying that crime in our community is on the rise and that some criminal elements have decided to target municipal infrastructure services, especially the electrical infrastructure, as a source of income. Coper theft is at an all-time high as the resale value of this commodity is substantially higher than any other metal. Substations and mini substations are targeted as these key points in the electrical distribution network is seen as easy targets containing a vast amount of readily accessible copper without the added effort and risk of digging out cables.
The destruction of these critical infrastructure services has devastating effects on the residents and businesses alike. Not only does the loss of electricity adversely affect the safety and security of residents, especially those that rely on electricity for medical apparatus like oxygen generators, it also negatively impacts on the earning potential of businesses in the area which in turn leads to job losses.
The cost of repairs to damaged infrastructure has also risen substantially in the past years and has become unsustainable by the financial resources available to the MLM. An example of this is the destruction of equipment at the Vaalpark Main substation on 30 March 2018 with an estimated repair cost of R 5.5 million whilst the damage done to the Roseberry substation on 28 June 2019 left a large number of businesses without electricity for several days while repairs where being made.
The electricity supply to the main water supply tower was targeted by criminals on 6 May 2019. Although the repairs were expedited and little to no effect to the supply of water to residents and industries in the area was experienced, the risk remains that the total destruction of this electricity supply may result in the inability of the MLM to supply water to the area for an extended period of time.
During the period of 3 to 7 October 2019, five substations where vandalised whilst one sewage pump station, Welgelegen, was stripped. The substations include Felixstowe 1, Saltberry, Park, Snyman and Willowgrove.
The Albrecht and Taunus substations that was targeted on 11 and 24 July 2019 respectively is still not operational with the result being that other substations are being over utilised to ensure the supply of electricity to the areas normally served by these two substations. This situation is also unsustainable due to the aging of the transformers and switchgear in these substations.
The above are but a few examples of the extent to which the electrical infrastructure is currently being targeted in the area.
Solution considerations
The following factors, in no particular order, where taken into consideration during the investigation of various proposed solutions:
1. Effectiveness
2. Time to implement
3. Affordability
4. Sustainability
5. Added benefits
Proposed solution
After careful consideration the SGAG propose the installation of alarm systems in all substations and mini substations as well as other critical infrastructure buildings within the MLM area. In particular, we propose the installation of self-monitored systems instead of utilizing the services of security companies in the area.
Effectiveness
Alarm systems have been used for securing properties since 1858 and is therefore, after placing guards at the buildings, the most effective and reliable method to implement.
Not all alarm systems are created equal and a substantial amount of time, effort and funds from the directors of the SGAG where invested in investigating the various makes and models on the market.
It was decided that we would standardise on the We Monitor We64 alarm panels for substations and the We Monitor We-G2 GSM communicator for mini substations as these units employ the latest technology available. More detail on the capabilities of these systems are included as Annexure A to this proposal.
We Monitor utilises specialised software that was specifically designed for the monitoring of these alarm units that allows the entire monitoring process to operate autonomously. Crucial minutes are therefore saved with the elimination of human intervention between the alarm system and the notification of an event to the responding parties which makes this solution the most effective solution available.
Time to deploy
The alarm units are locally manufactured and readily available. The delivery time of the units are normally 3 days from order. The installation time per unit is dependent on a number of factors including but not limited to: -
- the type of installation being performed (substation or mini substation); and
- the number of doors being monitored; and
- the number of passive detectors being installed; and
- the availability of a power source.
The standard installation time per substation is between 4 and 6 hours whilst the installation time per mini substation is between 3 and 5 hours.
A standard deployment of an alarm system can therefore be achieved within 4 days where a unit must be ordered or, where units have been pre-ordered and is available at the SGAG, within 6 hours.
Affordability
The price of the unit is competitive and, in some instances, cheaper than comparable units of another make.
Sustainability
By using the latest technology, the hardware component of the solution will be supported for the foreseeable future.
By eliminating the human factor in the monitoring and notification phases of an event, the monthly costs involved are up to 300% cheaper than services rendered by traditional security companies making this solution financially more sustainable.
Additional benefits
The following are examples of additional benefits derived from standardising on the proposed solution:
1. Accountability – Each municipal employee requiring access to the infrastructure being monitored is provided with a unique access code to arm and disarm the system. These employees can therefore be held accountable in the event where a system was not armed and the infrastructure is compromised.
2. Security services – The municipal contracted security service provider is and remains responsible for the human factor of safeguarding the infrastructure. By utilising this existing, paid for resource the overall direct cost of the system is reduced.
In addition to the contracted security service provider the Community Police Forum (CPF) and their associated structures are also informed when a reportable event, e.g. a door opening at a substation, occurs. The response by CPF members further adds to the number of people attending to a problem.
The SGAG team is also informed of events and is able to assist with additional resources and services, including mobilization of the municipal electricians, where required.
Using traditional security service providers normally results in a single security guard attending to a problem.
3. Remote system access – The alarm units can be accessed remotely via any device capable of accessing the internet. This allows for the monitoring of any unit as well as the arming and disarming of the units. The functionality available to a user is based on the access code of the user accessing the system further enhancing the accountability of actions taken by the user as discussed above.< /br>
4. Customization – The system is customisable to cater for future needs as and when they arise. This eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming replacement of existing units in the field.
5. Fault finding – As has been the case in the recent past, the system may be used to assist with the finding of faults allowing us to limit the search area and time that it would normally take the municipal electrician to trace a fault and, where possible, restore power to the affected area in the shortest amount of time possible.
6. Unlimited notification recipients – The proposed solution does not limit the number of recipients of event notifications.
7. Customised notifications – Notifications may be customised per event category to ensure that only relevant notifications are received by an individual. The security personnel should only receive event notifications of a security nature, e.g. a break in, whilst the municipal electricians should only receive notifications of an operational nature, e.g. power outages.
8. Customised notification methods – The system currently caters for the delivery of notifications via SMS and Telegram with an optional notification alert call for each of these categories.
9. Timeous notification – It has been our experience that the average time since an event is detected by the alarm system until all relevant parties received the notification of the event is 15 seconds.
Implemented solutions
Since the inception of this project the SGAG has obtained the required permission from the MLM for the installation of alarms systems. A copy of the permission is attached hereto as Annexure B.
1. SMR Security has installed an alarm system at Vaalpark Main. The monthly cost of this system is R100 and is based on a month-to-month contract. Although this system is operational it lacks the ability to report on which user armed or disarmed the system and therefore does not cater for the accountability section of the proposed system.
2. ADT has provided and installed alarm systems at seven substations at no cost. There is no fixed monthly cost for the monitoring of these system. ADT has opted to charge a fee per event per system. These systems are operational, but excessive false alarms as well as delays of up to 32 minutes in event notifications are a regular occurrence.
3. Three Centsys GSM units have been deployed as roaming units and is used as temporary monitoring devices at sites where we receive information that tampering may occur. These units are prohibitively expensive to purchase and require manual monitoring of the available airtime on each unit.
4. Two We-G2 GSM units have been deployed and is currently monitoring a mini substation and a cable.
5. Seven We64 panels have been installed in substations in Sasolburg. These units are fully operational.
Successes achieved
During the pilot phase of the above solutions we were able to prevent: -
- cable theft on five occasions; and
- the destruction of substation equipment on four occasions.
On three occasions arrests were made as a direct result of the notifications received from the proposed solution.
We were also able to assist the municipality in narrowing down fault locations on eight occasions resulting in the restoration of electricity within two hours after a failure occurred on three occasions.
It must also be noted that all off these successes were achieved through the implementation of the proposed solution whilst no recordable successes were achieved through the traditional security service providers.
Phased implementation
It is the opinion of the SGAG that, with more than 800 substations and mini substations located throughout the MLM, the implementation of the proposed solution must be conducted in different phases. This approach will allow for the implementation of the proposed solution based on the prioritization of the various substations and mini substations.
In addition to the prioritization benefit the phased approach will also alleviate the financial burden associated with the implementation of the proposed solution.
The following elements must be considered when determining the priority of a specific substation or mini substation:
a. The number of substations and mini substations receiving electricity from the specific distribution point. This will determine the area which will be affected if the distribution point were to be destroyed.
b. The impact on industries, businesses and schools in the feed area of the distribution point should it be out of commission for an extended period of time. This will have a socio-economic impact on the whole municipal area as it may lead to job losses and the closure of businesses as well as the ability for schools to provide quality education to learners.
c. The frequency at which damage was caused to the distribution point in the past year as this is an indicator of probability that the specific distribution point will be the target of criminal activities in the future.
d. The impact on residents in the feed area of the distribution point.
A weighting formula must be introduced to determine the priority of a specific distribution point based on the above factors.
Notwithstanding the above, the implementation process must allow residents and businesses to contribute to a specific installation and these installations should be considered a priority.
Additional measures
In addition to the implementation of the proposed solution, the SGAG further recommends that: -
- lights be installed at the substations illuminating the immediate vicinity around the substation; and
- the areas surrounding the substations and mini substations be cleaned on a regular basis as these areas are being used as dumping grounds for rubble; and
- existing enclosures surrounding substations be repaired or replaced.
Each of these measures will further assist with securing the areas surrounding the substations and making it more difficult for the criminal element to cause damage to the infrastructure.
Pricing
The table below contains the base cost price per unit as well as the costing of standard additional items. These prices are subject to fluctuations in the exchange rate and must be considered as an estimate of the actual costs.
| Cost item |
Price per substation |
Price per mini substation |
| Base unit price |
R 1,853.48 |
R 800.12 |
| Standard additional items - This includes the power supply, battery and other peripheral devices required for the unit to be operational and includes the monitoring of one door and, where applicable, one room. |
R 2,838.36 |
R 2,144.72 |
| Additional cost per door |
R 191.35 |
R 123.91 |
| Additional cost per room |
R 540.36 |
N/A |
These prices are subject to change due to factors like the Rand to US Dollar exchange rate. |
Costs of additional items required for the customization of the installation is dependent on the equipment and cannot be determined before a detailed analysis of the installation has been performed. Examples of additional items include the following: -
- monitoring of supply lines;
- additional keypads;
- beams;
- load sensing switches;
- vibration sensors;
- flow sensors.
The monthly service fee of R180 per unit is excluded from the above pricing structure.
Funding
The SGAG need the financial support of every resident and business as well as the industries in the area in order for this project to succeed and have a positive impact on the problem at hand.
Some of the residents are already supporting the project on a monthly basis by contributing as little as R 50. Other residents, like those at Monet Single, have opted to pay the costs of the alarm system and have provided us with a debit order instruction for the monthly fees for the system. The residents of Unie Street and Deovolente have opted to only pay for the alarm system, but are not contributing towards the monthly fees. The residents of Deovolente has already reaped the rewards of their decision to support this project as one of the arrests that where made as mentioned earlier, was based on the notification received by the system that they paid for.
We have also been fortunate enough to have two local businesses pay for the alarm system and the monthly fees for a year. Core Valuations sponsored the system currently installed at Roseberry substation and Sceco Trading & Projects have done the same for the systems at Albrecht and Taunus substations.
In addition, Sasol provided the financial backing to enable us to install two alarm systems, one at the Welgelegen pump station and another at a mini substation in Zamdela. The alarm system installed at Welgelegen pump station is not only used for the monitoring of security events, but also monitors various equipment within the station for failures.
Additional funding is required for the successful implementation of the proposed solution throughout the MLM district. These funds must be sourced from residents, industries and businesses.
Conclusion
Although the responsibility of maintaining and securing municipal infrastructure rests with the municipality, recent events have shown that, without the assistance from the public at large, this is a task that the municipality is unable to perform on their own.
Given the current situation where substations and mini substations are out of service due to vandalism and looting, ring feed cabling that is damaged or non-existent and the age of the switch gear, transformers, cables and other equipment, we must protect that which is still operational at all costs or face circumstances similar to those experienced by our neighbouring municipalities where areas where left without electricity for weeks on end.
There are moments in time when, through seemingly simple actions, we are able to stop disaster from striking. These moments are few and far between and it is our responsibility to take action when we are presented with these opportunities. It is too late when all we are left with is the “if only” and “what if” regrets that are associated with looking back on what could have been.
It is our firm believe that by implementing this proposed solution we will actively assist in preventing and greatly reduce the risk of the total collapse of our electrical infrastructure.
Annexure A – Alarm system capabilities
We64 Panel
The We64 is a state of the art, microprocessor based, customizable sixteen-zone Alarm Panel. It is, with the addition of expander modules, expandable to a maximum of 64 zones. All features are programmable either directly via the keypad or the manufacturers' website (for authorized users only). Communication to the monitoring station is by means of an onboard GSM modem. Five programmable outputs are provided which may be used to operate peripheral devices or alternately activate a radio transmitter for dual technology monitoring applications. A dedicated fused siren output is provided. Each keypad has the option of one additional zone and one additional programmable output. Each expander module provides an additional 8 zones and two programmable outputs.
We64 Features
- 16 programmable, end-of-line supervised zone inputs
- Expandable to 64 zones using expander modules and keypad zones (8 zones per expander module and 1 one per keypad)
- 4 partitions
- Optional tamper reporting per zone using double end-of-line resistors
- Dedicated tamper zone
- Five programmable outputs on the alarm panel, with an additional output per keypad and 2 outputs per expansion module
- Flash memory retains all program and event log data in the event of a total power failure
- Remote access to a timestamped event log
- Zone loop response time programmable to either 100 ms or 16 ms
- Up and downloadable from website
- Auto arm / disarm capability per partition and by day of the week
- Dynamic battery test
- Low battery cut out
- Remotely updateable firmware for panel, keypads, and expansion modules
- Integral GSM modem. Optionally the panel is available without the GSM modem but functionality is degraded
- Reporting via the GSM module and/or trigger outputs.
We-G2 GSM Communicator
The We-G2 GSM Communicator is specifically designed for use in the security industry. It can be connected to an existing alarm panel via the telephone connections and accepts any Contact ID strings. The unit operates on a private network and the signals are routed to the monitoring station. Four configurable trigger inputs are also provided allowing for the implementation of this unit as a stand-alone solution where a full alarm panel is not required.
We-G2 GSM Communicator Features
- 4 programmable inputs
- Compatible with existing alarm panels using the Contact ID protocol
- Cost saving, stand-alone monitoring solution
Annexure B – Municipal permission letter
