Eskom Load shedding: How it affects and how to be prepared

 Load shedding is now a very common problem in our everyday lives. Loadshedding happens when Eskom reduces the supply of electricity to avoid excessive.  According to Thompson (2019), load shedding started in 2007 when Eskom announced and decided that it was unable to give power to the country as a whole at the same time.

 They made people aware that some areas needed to suffer load shedding during certain times.

South Africans have been facing this problem for a very long time, mostly small businesses, schools, traffic lights and hospitals are affected by load shedding.

 

How load shedding affects South Africa According to Thompson (2019):

Traffic

-        South Africans always complain about traffic, in most cases it because of rush hour people coming out from work. When its load shedding and the robots are off it becomes a nightmare. Although it gets worse time is lost and chances of accidents is very high.  

Hospitals

-        Load shedding has a huge impact on hospitals. Many public hospitals are unable to provide adequate health care services when the power goes out. Even though they frequently have generators for emergency power, this is still not a long-term strategy. Additionally, there is a threat to the health care workers safety. During power outages, the most vulnerable individuals are those who finish work late.   

Schools

-        Some schools don’t have natural light coming in classrooms. Not all schools use other methods to generate electricity into certain areas of the school. Another thing is students find it challenging to study at home as a result to the daily power outage and not being able to get to school on time due to traffic lights being off. This is a negative effect on education on students.

 

 According to Budget Insurance (2022) Even though South Africans aren’t new to load shedding, we constantly have to adjust our budgets and plan to cope with living without electricity, even for short periods. The load shedding plans are effectively accessible, so you can prepare. Don’t make load shedding make you feel helpless follow the basic hints to assist you with the power outage without burning through every last cent.

 

How to survive load shedding:

-       -  Keep phone charged when there is electricity to avoid having low battery during load shedding.

-      -  Remember to switch off all appliances when load shedding starts.

-       - Having a candle, touch or non-electric lights is advisable.

-       - Prepare meals in ahead time to avoid hunger and frustration of not having food.

-        - Install a solar power so that your house can have a bit of light.

 

Conclusion

In South Africa, load shedding is causing so much frustration. When the power goes out, a lot of people tend to suffer when it comes to resources. In addition, when it comes to alarms and security cameras, load shedding interrupts the system and more crime activity increases.

 References:

1.    Budget Insurance. (2022). Affordable ways to survive load shedding at home. Available from: https://www.budgetinsurance.co.za/blog/home-blog/affordable-ways-to-survive-load-shedding-at-home/    [Accessed 22 March 2022].

2.    Thompson, A. (2019). Load Shedding: what is it and why is it affecting South Africa. Available From: https://theculturetrip.com/africa/south-africa/articles/load-shedding-what-it-is-and-why-is-it-affecting-south-africa/   [Accessed 22 March 2023].