What is load-shedding and why is it occurring in South Africa?
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Loadshedding is the practice of having controlled power outages to spare the electricity grid during times when electricity production is reduced. South Africa is mostly dependent on coal fired power stations concentrated in one area of the country so any disruption of coal delivery, like heavy rains for instance, or intentional sabotage can seriously disrupt electricity production.
These disruptions would normally be mitigated by having excess capacity as well as pump flow storage and enormous backup diesel generators. The planned excess capacity has failed to come online as power stations projects like Medupi have constantly missed deadlines and have had spectacularly large cost overruns (government corruption) – the project that was supposed to cost R80 billion was estimated at R234 billion in 2019. The diesel is comparative expensive and is only designed to alleviate electricity production during peak hours. Because the majority South Africa is still extremely poor by first world standards the cost can’t simply be passed onto the consumers and therefore there’s a very limited budget for diesel.
South Africa in at the bottom of the African continent and has limited connections to it’s neighboring countries. There are 2 neighboring Hydro Electric projects which are already supplying part of South Africa’s electricity needs and there is very little excess capacity available from it’s neighbors to accommodate any large temporary capacity losses.
Loadshedding itself does not reduce overall demand but if the policy of loadshedding was not followed then South Africa would run the very real danger of having complete grid failure.
South Africa has also been extremely slow to bring Independent Power Producers like wind farms onboard.
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