Swartkops Power Station

The Swartkops Power Station next to the Swartkops River is one of those landmarks that has become part of the city scape over the years yet I don't think a lot of people know much about it.  So in case you don't know its story, here goes. The provision of electricity in Port Elizabeth begun in 1906 with the establishment of the Electricity Works.  This supplied fifteen private consumers and thirty street lamps with electricity.  As industry in the area grew and the volume…

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Green energy

The Pick n Pay head office next to Walmer Park Shopping Centre recently launched a new phase in its effort to achieve energy independence. It erected a small "wind farm". The stars of the show is three 12-metre e300 Kestrel turbines built at Eveready's Port Elizabeth factory.For more information, read this article.

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Power to the people

Some of the power lines that bring electricity to Port Elizabeth from the Eskom power stations in Mpumalanga. In the background is the now defunct Swartkops Power Station. It would have been an ideal source of backup power for the city, had the decision not been taken to mothball it and sell off the plant for scrap metal.

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