Technology9.12.2014

Load shedding around the world

By Jan Vermeulen

Eskom recently warned that South Africans could be looking at more power cuts if electricity demand wasn’t kept in check.

A spokesperson for the company said on Wednesday, 3 December 2014, that Eskom was using its emergency reserves extensively and that these reserves could soon be depleted.

This would affect the whole country, and increase the likelihood of load shedding, Eskom said.

With load shedding intensifying in South Africa – due to a variety of problems at Eskom – one can’t help but wonder whether other countries experience similar issues.

It turns out that Eskom is not the only power utility that makes use of load shedding, though the company it keeps may not be encouraging.

The table below lists some countries currently experiencing strain on their power supply, or that have experienced load shedding during 2014.

Country	Load shedding details
Pakistan	Pakistan experienced some of its worst load shedding ever during July 2014, according to media reports, with continued strain on the power supply.
Nepal	The Nepalese electricity authority instituted a load shedding schedule on 6 September 2014. According to reports, it faces up to 16 hours of load shedding per day during the dry season.
India	Power cuts remain common in some Indian states, according to reports, due to a shortage of electricity generation capacity in the country.
Zimbabwe	Load shedding by Zesa continues, with reports that some households went without power for up to 16 hours every day during October. According to the Zesa site, Zimbabwe has had a power shortage since 2007.
Ghana	Ghana’s power utility has issued a load shedding schedule which will see residential users go offline for 12 hours, and come on for 24 hours. Industries will go off for 48 hours and then be up for 6 days.
Botswana	Botswana Power Corporation issued a warning on 30 October 2014, pleading with residents to reduce their electricity consumption to prevent load shedding.
Bangladesh	The Dhaka Electricity Company published a load shedding schedule for Ramadan.
Belgium	Planned and unplanned outages at 4 of its 7 nuclear reactors has energy experts warning of potential blackouts.