Outline:
- Introduction
- Causes
- A problem of developing countries
- Condition in developed countries
- Scheduled or abrupt load-shedding
- Load-shedding in Pakistan
Load-shedding is the practice of stopping the supply of electricity for a period of time because the demand is greater than the supply. Load-shedding is a last-resort measure used by an electric production company in order to ignore a blackout of the power system. It is usually in reaction to a condition where the demand for electricity maximum the power supply capability of the network.
Load-shedding commonly results from insufficient production capacity or inadequate transmission infrastructure to provide sufficient power to the area where it is needed. Load-shedding is a general or a daily normal event in many developing countries where electricity production capacity is underfunded or infrastructure is poorly managed.
Load-shedding may be localized to a specific part of the electricity network or may be more widespread and affect entire country.
Load-shedding in developed state is rare because demand is exactly forecasted, adequate infrastructure investment in scheduled and network are well managed, such events are measured an unacceptable failure to plan and can cause important political damage to the concerned government.
In well managed under-capacity systems, load-shedding is scheduled in advance and advertised to allow people to work around them but in most cases, they happen without warning, typically whenever the transmission frequency falls below the 'safe' limit.
Owing to chronic shortage of electricity, power-cuts are common throughout Pakistan, adversely affecting the country's potential for economic growth. Even in provincial capitals, load-shedding is common especially during the hot summer season when demand for outstrips supply. Rural areas are the most severely affected, it is general for the rural households, having access to electricity, to lose power for more than 12 hours daily.
This sorry state of affairs has created untold miseries for the workers and production sector. Even protests, agitations and strikes at large scale could do nothing in this regard.
Electricity is the basic power which makes a living in many fields. Many amenities of everyday life are directly linked with the supply of electricity. Unscheduled load-shedding always disturbs the normal pace of life beyond proportion. Load-shedding has far-reaching implications on the whole fabric of society. Government is facing a lot of protest across the country but admits that this problem urgently and permanently to save the nation from an economic collapse and irreparable loss.
