South Africa’s cable industry has the capacity and expertise to support grid optimisation, but only if it is protected against substandard imports that are already undermining the safety and performance of industrial, domestic and renewable energy installations.
Andre Smith, CEO of South Ocean Electric Wire (SOEW) and subsidiary of JSE-listed South Ocean Holdings, says: “South Africa’s grid faces growing demand from renewable energy integration, industrial recovery and electrification goals, with utilities like Eskom and municipalities increasingly relying on innovative reconductoring and uprating solutions to unlock additional capacity on existing corridors without lengthy environmental approvals or new tower construction.”
But Smith cautions that the cable industry is being plagued by the dumping of significantly lower-priced, inferior, non-compliant imported cables, that are leading to overheating, insulation breakdown, fires and costly downtime.
“Investing in proven, compliant technologies, whether for reconductoring overhead lines or ensuring robust low-voltage integration, will ensure the delivery of a more resilient transmission network, lower long-term costs and faster deployment of clean energy,” he explains.
“These issues we’ve repeatedly highlighted in household, renewable energy, industrial, mining and construction infrastructure applications. We urge the transmission sector to not fall into the same trap as other industries which have faced costly cable failures and downtime.
“It’s important that the transmission industry prioritises from the outset, quality and locally manufactured solutions that pass rigorous testing to ensure safer, more efficient implementations that will support South Africa’s energy transition and grid reliability.”
Smith adds, “Constraints on new transmission routes make it essential to maximise the infrastructure capacity through advanced engineering approaches and superior materials.
“While much focus is on high-temperature low-sag (HTLS) conductors and reconductoring for overhead lines, it is critical to use compliant, high-performance products across the entire network, from distribution to low-voltage connections to support renewable tie-ins and substations.”
He notes that innovative transmission technologies, such as upgraded conductors with composite-core or high-ampacity options like ACCC or similar HTLS types deployed in projects like City Power Johannesburg reconductoring enable significant power transfer increases, often doubling capacity while maintaining existing rights-of-way.
“These approaches align with global trends toward resilient networks and a commitment to sustainability, local job creation and partnerships such as that between SOEW and Mwanga Afrika Cables.
“We believe that SOEW has the right to speak out on behalf of our local industry as a specialist in low-voltage products for residential, commercial, industrial and renewable energy applications. This includes the dire need for SABS-certified wiring, and that steel wire armored cables and specialized cables are compliant with local and or international standards.
“It’s disturbing to see, as an established local-compliant manufacturer creating employment and uplifting our community, that the local industry is losing business to dumped, non-compliant imports that have absolutely no backup support.
“The vast majority of these grey imports cannot compete against locally-produced high-quality cables when tested against each other. This is regularly proven through tests conducted in our laboratory.
“SOEW’s SABS-compliant products are backed by in-house and SANAS-accredited testing facility which guarantees a safer, more sustainable electrical ecosystem,” Smith concludes.