What is Load Shedding and Why?
Load shedding is the controlled shutdown of power supply. With rising fuel prices and energy demand, the global shortage of generating capacity in many countries is becoming more apparent. Utilities are forced to implement measures to protect power grids from chronic failures.
What is Load Shedding?
Load shedding is a method of balancing the demand and supply of electricity within a state. When the demand for electricity exceeds the supply capacity of a primary power source, it is used to reduce the load on the source.If insufficient supply is unable to meet consumer demand, the grid may become unstable. Thus, more customers go without power for longer periods, damaging equipment and not initiating load shedding.
In short, it is a controlled shutdown of power supply in a specific area.
How are the Zones Selected?
Any area is not targeted. But instead, load shedding is distributed across the network, often accompanied by phases in zones or regions.The term 'zone' refers to a cluster of adjoining suburbs within a city. For load-shed countries, customers rely on the schedule (which is available online) to determine which zone their building falls into.
Power utilities avoid disrupting sensitive areas such as critical hospitals, central business districts and municipal buildings where power loss could be dangerous to the public.
What are the Stages of Load Shedding?
Like area, load shedding is divided into levels or stages. These determine how often and for how long load shedding will occur on a given day. As the dose increases, so does the frequency and duration.For example, in the first phase, a zone may experience 2 hours of load shedding in a day. If government officials announce Phase 6, a zone can expect multiple two- to four-hour sessions.
Load Shedding vs Blackout - What's the Difference?
If load shedding stops power supply, how is it different from power cut? Although the terms seem synonymous, there are significant differences.Some countries use specific terms to describe their lack of electricity depending on their situation. For example, South Africa, Sri Lanka Pakistan use "load shedding" because it is structured and routine.
However, the United States, Australia and China favor "power cuts" or "rolling blackouts" because they are rare and often seen as an emergency method to protect the grid from extreme weather.
A blackout or power failure is a total loss of electricity in an area due to damage to the grid. Depending on the extent of the damage, this indefinite outage could last for any length of time. Load shedding is the last resort to avoid blackouts.
What Causes Load Shedding?
Lack of production capacity is the main reason for this. Inadequate infrastructure to generate enough electricity to meet demand puts enormous pressure on the grid. This strain alone makes the network sensitive/ susceptible to other factors leading to load shedding:- unplanned generation plant outages
- unexpected damage to equipment
- extreme weather
- or a combination of these factors
Power utilities decide the distribution and how to reduce consumption. Often, these are in the form of scheduled load shedding, in which areas are turned off for some time. But this is a short-term solution, which is being implemented in many countries. In the long run we need to increase our production capacity.
Here are short paragraphs of load shedding.
Related Articles
No comments:
Post a Comment