General
Load shedding is the intentional, temporary shutdown of electric power delivery to certain areas or customers by a utility or grid operator, usually to prevent the entire system from failing when demand for electricity exceeds supply. This controlled blackout strategy is often a last resort to maintain grid stability. In regions like South Africa, load shedding is scheduled when the grid is under severe strain, rotating outages among different areas. Widespread adoption of renewables and storage aims to reduce load shedding by increasing available generation capacity and flexibility.