Eskom’s Approach to Power Management: Key Differences Between Load Shedding and Load Reduction

Load Shedding and Load Reduction: What’s the Difference?

Eskom, South Africa’s power utility, recently announced the implementation of load reduction across seven provinces, sparking concerns about the return of scheduled power outages. However, Eskom clarified that load reduction is distinct from load shedding. The improved generation capacity at Eskom’s power stations is currently sufficient to meet national demand.

Localized Issues and Infrastructure Challenges

Load reduction addresses more localized issues, particularly in areas where damaged or overloaded infrastructure cannot handle increased demand. The spike in demand is attributed to the colder weather impacting regions such as:

• Limpopo
• Western Cape
• Eastern Cape
• Gauteng
• Mpumalanga
• KwaZulu-Natal
• North West

Criminal activities and neglect also play significant roles in necessitating load reduction.

The City of Johannesburg’s Approach

While load reduction may be new to many areas, the City of Johannesburg has been implementing these measures for over a month. The city can cut electricity usage in households when excessive power consumption is detected within its jurisdiction. This strategy protects the integrity of infrastructure—substations, transformers, cables, and more—preventing explosions, fires, and property damage due to overload.

Excessive electricity consumption is particularly prevalent during winter, as consumers use heaters, air conditioning, and ovens to keep warm. Illegal electricity connections, meter bypassing, theft, and vandalism also contribute to overloading the electricity network.

Load Shedding Explained

Load Shedding: Implemented by Eskom when the national electricity grid is under pressure due to high demand with insufficient generation capacity. This affects the entire nation and can last up to eight hours, depending on the stage implemented. Municipalities are legally required to comply with load shedding schedules.

Load Reduction in Detail

Load Reduction: Cuts off electricity to areas with excessive usage, often due to illegal connections. This is a more localized measure compared to load shedding and can range from entire cities to specific suburbs. Cities identify areas with high levels of illegal activity, making load reduction a necessary step to protect infrastructure.

Other Measures: Load Limiting and Load Curtailment

Load Limiting: Reduces a household’s electricity usage by curtailing its maximum current from 60 amps to as low as 10 amps. This ensures households have enough power for essentials like lights, fridges, and computers. It is usually implemented within specific suburbs or complexes.

Load Curtailment: Implemented based on agreements between power utilities and large power users or essential services. These businesses agree to reduce production during peak periods to alleviate grid pressure without undergoing load reduction or shedding.

Peak Hours and Infrastructure Demands

Peak hours, typically from 05:00 to 07:00 in the morning and 17:00 to 19:00 in the evening, are when electricity usage is highest. Families prepare for the day or return home, using appliances that increase demand. Electricity infrastructure must cope with these loads to prevent failures.

Example of Load Shedding vs Load Reduction

Load Shedding: If the national grid cannot meet demand, load shedding is implemented. Municipalities must follow a set schedule, switching off power according to the stage level. For example, at stage 2, areas experience two 2-hour blocks of load shedding daily.

Load Reduction: Addresses specific areas where infrastructure is at risk due to increased demand or illegal activity. For example, an 11kva substation serving 1,000 houses, including commercial and community facilities, may handle legal connections without issue. However, a surge in demand from winter weather or illegal connections could overload the substation, necessitating load reduction to prevent damage.

Government and Utility Responsibilities

While utilities often blame external factors like illegal connections for these issues, Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has also highlighted failures within utilities and municipalities. Neglected and outdated equipment contributes to infrastructure failures, increasing the need for load reduction.