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 undermining the safety and performance of industrial, domestic and renewable-energy installations, notes wire and electric cable manufacturer South Ocean Electric Wire (SOEW) CEO Andre Smith.

He says the grid faces growing demand from renewable-energy integration, industrial recovery and electrification goals, with utilities and municipalities increasingly relying on innovative reconductoring and uprating solutions to unlock additional capacity on existing corridors.

However, Smith cautions that the cable industry is being plagued by the dumping of significantly lower-priced, inferior and 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, reduce long-term costs and enable faster deployment of clean energy.”

It is critical that the transmission industry prioritise quality and locally manufactured solutions that pass rigorous testing to ensure safer and more efficient installations. While there is much attention on high-temperature low-sag (HTLS) conductors and the reconductoring of overhead lines, compliant, high- performance products must be used across the entire network, from distribution systems to low-voltage connections supporting renewable-energy tie-ins and substations.

Smith adds that constraints on new transmission routes make it essential to maximise existing infrastructure capacity through advanced engineering approaches and superior materials.

Innovative transmission technologies – such as upgraded conductors with composite- core or high-ampacity options, including aluminium conductor composite core and other HTLS conductors – can allow for significant power-transfer increases, often doubling capacity while maintaining existing rights-of-way.

These approaches, he adds, align with global trends towards resilient networks and a commitment to job creation and partnerships, such as the one between SOEW and Mwanga Afrika Cables.

SOEW continues to advocate for the use of South African Bureau of Standards- certified wiring and compliant steel-wire-armoured and specialised cables that meet local or international standards.

Smith concludes it is “disturbing” to see that the local industry is losing business to noncompliant imports that have no backup support.