Major South African city going big on electric vehicles

City Power, Johannesburg’s municipal power utility, will unveil its first electric vehicle fleet in the coming month.

This is part of a programme to replace City Power’s vehicles with electric models.

The utility’s CEO, Tshifularo Mashava, said these vehicles will be charged using solar power, which forms part of City Power’s commitment to evolving from a traditional electricity provider into a dynamic energy enabler.

“With the backbone already done, we are busy with the solar pump where the vehicles are going to be charged,” Mashava said.

“We are bringing private cars, vans, mini-bus, trucks, and a bus.”

Mashava added that the EV fleet is one of City Power’s milestones on its path towards sustainability, resilience, and innovation.

This drive has also seen the utility embark on a programme to replace over 200,000 ABC-cabled street lights with solar high masts, which it believes will help decrease cable theft in the city.

City Power has so far replaced 200 of these street lights with solar high masts.

“The solar high masts are more durable, they are not getting chopped, but at the same time, they are meeting our sustainability environmental goals because they are green,” Mashava said.

“In the long run, the usage of these lights will become more affordable as we won’t have to pay Eskom for the energy consumed.”

Mashava also raised concerns about Johannesburg’s ageing infrastructure, some of which is 70 years old and has sustained significant damage from load-shedding.

To solve this issue, the CEO says the utility is looking to modernise its grid to include a “self-healing component” that allows it to be operated automatically and remotely.

South African bus service going electric

Another South African company that is going electric is Golden Arrow Bus Services, which has rolled out the first 20 of its electric buses.

Last year, it announced that it would acquire 120 buses from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD.

BYD has a commercial vehicle footprint over six continents and has delivered over 80,000 electric buses worldwide.

The 12.5-meter-long B12 buses have 65 seats each and lithium iron phosphate batteries.

They are also fitted with BYD’s six-in-one controller for enhanced efficiency, consisting of two electric motor control units, one steering control unit, one air compressor controller, one DC-DC controller, and one power distribution unit.

Golden Arrow’s company engineer said that electricity costs are expected to be 70% less than diesel.

It has built a charging station with 30 charging units, with two charging points each. However, Golden Arrow says this will soon be expanded to 60 chargers.

The bus service also plans to diversify its energy feed and make renewables the predominant source of electricity for the buses.

“As a South African, it is a great honour to introduce BYD electric buses and its advanced technologies to South Africa,” said BYD’s General Manager for South Africa, Steve Chang.

“This order is a testament to our shared vision of a sustainable future and highlights the increasing adoption of clean energy solutions in South Africa.”

Rigorous testing of the new buses began in 2020, with a 37-seater BYD K9 bus. Golden Arrow then introduced two electric buses into service in 2021.

Testing was then expanded to include the 65-seater buses in January 2023.

“Under demanding conditions such as simulating peak passenger capacities and conquering Cape Town’s steepest inclines, the robustness and reliability of BYD’s electric buses were unequivocally demonstrated,” BYD said.

By fulfilling this deal, the two companies said they will create the country’s first electric bus fleet and promote sustainable public transport.

“As a company with such a rich history, we are proud to be the first to bring electric buses to South Africa’s public transport space,” Golden Arrow CEO Francois Meyer said.

“This partnership with BYD underscores our commitment to innovation and sustainability.”