This week, power utility Eskom announced the implementation of load reduction in seven provinces, raising concerns that scheduled power outages might be making a comeback in South Africa.
Eskom, however, clarified that load reduction is not the same as load-shedding. The improved performance at the group’s power stations has provided enough capacity to meet national demand. Load reduction is a localized issue, stemming from damaged or overloaded infrastructure in specific areas unable to handle increased demand.
The recent spike in demand is attributed to much colder weather across the country, prompting Eskom to address issues in the following provinces:
- Limpopo
- Western Cape
- Eastern Cape
- Gauteng
- Mpumalanga
- KwaZulu-Natal
- North West
Additionally, criminal activity and infrastructure neglect play significant roles in necessitating load reduction.
While many areas may find load reduction a new experience, the City of Johannesburg has been implementing these cuts for over a month. The city reduces electricity usage in households when it detects excessive power consumption, which can be city-wide or confined to specific areas.
“This measure protects the integrity of infrastructure substations, transformers, cables and prevents explosions, fires, and property damage, including potential loss of life due to overload,” the city explained.
Excessive electricity consumption is common during winter as consumers use heaters, air conditioning, and ovens to stay warm. Illegal electricity connections, meter bypassing, theft, and vandalism also contribute to overloading the network.
“Residents illegally connected to the network do not pay for the electricity they consume, placing a financial and moral burden on honest residents who are mindful of their electricity usage,” the city noted. “Areas with high instances of illegal connections are the highest consumers of electricity.”
This demand overwhelms the infrastructure, leading to significant damage to equipment, which is costly to repair or replace. The city outlined several measures to manage this issue, including load shedding, load reduction, and load limiting, and clarified the differences between them.
Load Shedding
Load shedding is implemented by Eskom when the national electricity grid is under pressure due to high demand but insufficient capacity to generate electricity. This occurs on a national scale and can last up to eight hours, depending on the stage of load shedding required to manage electricity demand and protect the grid from collapse. Municipalities are legally obliged to comply and implement load shedding within their jurisdictions.
Load Reduction
Load reduction cuts off electricity to areas with excessive usage due to illegal connections. This is a more localized measure, ranging from entire cities to specific suburbs and areas. Cities typically identify high-risk areas for load reduction, which can be implemented during or outside load-shedding hours.
BusinessTech. (2023). Load shedding vs load reduction: Differences explained. [online] Available at: https://businesstech.co.za/news/energy/781864/load-shedding-vs-load-reduction-differences-explained/ [Accessed 12 Jul. 2024].