​Top 10 Countries that have experienced and continue to experience crippling load shedding

Top 10 Countries that have experienced and continue to experience crippling load shedding

Load shedding is becoming a daily inconvenience to all South Africans and with winter tapping on the window with its icy tentacles, the reality is that load shedding is going to become a whole lot worse before it becomes any better.

You might have heard people complaining that it is only South Africa that has load shedding but there are other countries that are experiencing power outages and in some countries load shedding has become a way of life. While Australia, the United States of America and the majority of Europe rarely suffer with load shedding, North Africa and the Middle East are by far the worst hit when it comes to continuous load shedding.

In North Africa and the Middle East residents have become accustomed to load shedding lasting up to 9 and a half hours, 6 days a week. In Africa the prevalence of load shedding is particularly damaging as it prevents a country from developing and achieving the increases in the standard of living that all developing nations hope to achieve. The World Bank has in the recent past determined that at least 32 out of 48 African nations are experiencing an energy crisis. This means that at the moment that majority of Africa is struggling to keep the lights on.

The rolling blackout

In South Africa we know it as load shedding but the rest of the world knows it as rolling blackouts. A rolling blackout is an intentional electricity shut down which is carried out and controlled by skilled engineers. Rolling blackouts are done for one reason and that is to prevent the total collapse of a power grid. The total shut down of a power system will have damaging, far reaching consequences so while a rolling blackout might be highly annoying and while it costs companies money, it is necessary for the survival of the power grid.

Rolling blackouts have affected the following countries and in some countries they are still experiencing cuts:

• 1.Pakistan

In July 2014 Pakistan was hit by some of the worst power outages that it has ever experienced. Like South Africa it is expected that the power crisis will continue for a number of years and like South Africa the power outages happen for hours at a time and they continue throughout the day. Electricity prices continue to rise even though there are ongoing power outages. People are losing their jobs and even the performance of students is diminishing. Some of the lower class, poorer areas of the country experience up to 20 hours of load shedding each day.

• 2.Nepal

In 2014 Nepal experienced devastating load shedding. With the power going off for 9 to 12 hours a day. This is not an uncommon thing for those living in Nepal. This country is highly reliant on hydroelectric power and in the dry seasons when there is not enough power to sustain the power needs of the country, the state run power supplier has little choice but to cut the power to save the grid.

• 3.Zimbabwe

With a collapsing economy it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that Zimbabwe has experienced its fair share of power cuts. A lack of maintenance and a lack of building new power stations to meet the demands of the people has led to power cuts that last up to 16 hours a day. The power crisis is expected to last for at least the next ten years.

• 4.Ghana

Ghana’s power crisis leaves residents and businesses living stressful lives. With businesses sometimes without power for 2 days at a time, while residencies can sometimes go 24 hours without power, this country’s national power supply is in crisis and the future will more than likely see power cuts as well.

• 5.India

Power cuts in India have become an everyday way of life. With such a huge population, power cuts are devastating the economy. In 2012 700 million citizens were left in the dark when the power cut. During a busy lunchtime, 3 of the 5 national power grids cut out. Back-up generators also failed, leaving hospital patients in danger. Rolling blackouts are very common in the hot summer months.

• 6.Belgium

Also in 2014, the European country Belgium came under threat of power cuts when its nuclear electricity generating plants needed to undergo necessary maintenance. Citizens were asked to reduce their electricity usage.

• 7.Botswana

Botswana came under risk of again load shedding in 2014 and the government had to request that citizens reduce their power usage to avoid load shedding being implemented. Load shedding is not uncommon in Botswana as power supply demands are occasionally not met. In May 2015 load shedding returned to Botswana and the power shortages that has plagued the country for 6 years returned.

• 8.Bangladesh

This country in Asia consumes far less power than the rest of Asia. But this hasn’t stopped them for having power cuts. The electricity infrastructure is badly managed and it is insufficient when it comes to meeting the small power supply demands of the nation.

• 9.The United States of America

The US, although a world leader, is no stranger to rolling blackouts. Because of the extremely hot summers that some of the states such as California experiences, the high use of air conditioners causes power shortages. In California, as it is in South Africa, the load shedding is divided up into stages and power cuts would last from one hour to two and a half hours. Temperature is almost always the reason why load shedding is implemented in the US.

• 10.Egypt

For Egyptians blackouts are a common occurrence, especially in the summer months when air conditioners become a necessity. With a serious power crisis expected to continue for many years to come, Egyptians have had to accept this new way of life.