Load shedding has become a daily household discussion topic in South Africa, but what is it all about?
Load shedding is a way of sharing available electricity between all users, as a means of dealing with the current shortage of electricity generation capacity in South Africa.
There is currently not enough electricity to meet the demand in South Africa. This is due to an increase in electricity demand coupled with deterioration of generation units throughout the country. Frequent breakdowns of generation units trigger load shedding whilst those units are being fixed.
Load shedding started in 2007 and steadily became more frequent throughout the years. At present, there has not been a single day in 2023 without load shedding.
Eskom has set up 8 stages of load shedding, with each stage cutting progressively more load from the grid. Stage 1 is the least disruptive, and every stage thereafter cuts more load, up to stage 8, which is the most severe.
The stages are shown below:
Eskom decides and communicates which stage of load shedding will be implemented at a given time. This decision is based on the current demand and current available generation capacity (including any units that are offline).
Eskom distribution networks and municipalities then implement these power cuts by using a predetermined schedule that evenly distributes power cuts across communities. They then cut power to affected communities and suburbs based on this schedule.
The reason for implementing load shedding is two-fold problem - (1) high demand for electricity and (2) low generation capacity. As communities grow larger and businesses expand, the demand for electricity is on an ever-increasing trend. This trend continues to expand year after year, and therefore the demand for electricity is much greater now than it has been in the past.
You will notice that on some prominent holidays (such as Christmas Day), electricity consumption drops dramatically due to many industrial businesses and offices closed for the occasion. This allows load shedding to be reduced or cut completely on some of these days.
Diminished electricity generation capacity is the second cause ofload shedding. The reason for lower available generation capacity at any one time can be any of the following:
This is a loaded question and there might be a lot more to it than meets the eye, especially for someone who is not familiar with the daily work at Eskom. As a short answer, electricity demand must decrease and electricity generation capacity must be increased. This will end load shedding altogether.
It is a fact that pressure on the grid can be reduced when the end users decrease demand and use less power. This is something all citizens throughout South Africa can parttake in immediately with little upfront cost and little inconvenience. Examples of reducing power usage include:
The other method is to increase electricity generation capacity. This can be done either by Eskom or by end users like you.
Since Eskom is the sole energy supplier in South Africa, they are can increase capacity through the following options:
In addition, South African citizens can increase generation capacity by using their own alternative power sources such as generators or solar systems. These small-scale units might not add a lot of power to the grid to be used by other end users, but at least they reduce the load on the system in that the user’s reliance on Eskom’s generation capacity is reduced. As more and more users start using their own alternative power sources, this could add up to a great reduction in load on the grid.