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 available supply and network capacity cannot meet demand. Unlike an unexpected blackout, load shedding is a controlled reliability measure: operators disconnect blocks of demand to keep grid frequency stable and avoid a wider collapse. Outages may be scheduled in rotating stages or initiated with little notice during a major system disturbance. The underlying causes can include insufficient generation, plant failures, fuel shortages, transmission constraints, extreme weather, or rapidly changing demand. New renewable generation can help increase supply, but reducing load shedding also requires dependable capacity, storage, transmission, demand response, and effective system operations.