noun

load shedding

LOHD shed-ing

Load shedding (noun) means the deliberate switching off of electricity to parts of a network, area by area and usually on a published schedule, so that demand does not exceed what the grid can supply and cause a total blackout. Example: “Stage 4 load shedding means the power goes off for four hours a day.”

noun

The deliberate switching off of electricity to parts of a network, area by area and usually on a published schedule, so that demand does not exceed what the grid can supply and cause a total blackout.

"Stage 4 load shedding means the power goes off for four hours a day."

"The bakery lost a whole day's trade to load shedding."

technical In computing, the practice of dropping or rejecting some incoming requests when a server or service is overloaded, so that the remaining traffic can still be handled.

"The gateway starts load shedding at 90 per cent CPU."

How to Use Load shedding

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTurning off the power in some areas on purpose so the whole grid does not fail.

When to use it

Everyday vocabulary in South Africa, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Nigeria, where schedules are published in stages. Elsewhere the same thing is usually called a rolling blackout.

Memory tip

It is normally two words as a noun and hyphenated before another noun: a load-shedding schedule.

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

load shedding → blackout → brownout

Common pairings

stage 6 load shedding load shedding schedule suspend load shedding load shedding app

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

Stage 4 _____ means the power goes off for four hours a day.

Etymology

A compound of load, meaning the demand on a supply system, and shedding, meaning getting rid of part of it.

Origin: English

Synonyms

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rolling blackouts rotational outages power cuts rota disconnection

Rhymes for load shedding

wedding bedding shedding sledding shredding

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between load shedding and a blackout?

Load shedding is planned and rotated, cutting power to selected areas for a set period so the rest of the grid stays up. A blackout is an unplanned failure, and a nationwide grid collapse is exactly what load shedding is meant to prevent.

What do the stages of load shedding mean?

Each stage corresponds to how much power must be removed from the grid, so a higher stage means more megawatts shed and therefore longer or more frequent outages for each area. In South Africa each stage represents roughly a further 1,000 MW.

Is load shedding the same as a brownout?

No. A brownout reduces the voltage across the network so lights dim but supply continues, while load shedding cuts selected areas off completely and restores them in rotation.