Europe could face LOAD SHEDDING later this year…

No, Eskom aren't opening plants in France or Spain. The winter energy crisis is set to worsen - with load shedding staring Europe in the face.

Sep 7, 2022 - 16:01
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Europe could face LOAD SHEDDING later this year…

The unthinkable is becoming the inevitable across Europe. All corners of the continent are facing a bleak winter, as soaring energy prices heap pressure on civilians and businesses alike. Now, for the first time, EU leaders are facing the possibility of load shedding in the months ahead.

Will load shedding come to Europe this winter?

It’s a word that sends shivers down the spine of every South African. Load shedding is the term used to describe rolling blackouts at staged intervals across the country. Mzansi has been blighted by these power outages for the past 14 years, largely due to mismanagement at Eskom.

However, times are tough up north: War broke out in Ukraine earlier this year, and the aggression shown by Russia goes further than the battlefield. President Vladimir Putin is playing hardball, safe in the knowledge that Europe is reliant on its gas supplies.

Emergency plans are being drawn up by British and EU governments as we speak. A freeze on energy bills and a cap on gas prices will be the first line of defence. But some critics want things to go further. A windfall tax on the obscene profits made by energy companies would be a start…

Europe load shedding
Europe could be plunged into darkness during their winter months – Photo: European Space Agency / Flickr

EU considering options to ‘reduce electricity usage’

Whether full-scale, organised blackouts will actually take place remains to be seen. We know it’s a scenario that the UK started planning for last month. That would constitute load shedding, as we’ve come to know it in South Africa.

However, it’s understood the EU would consider a wider range of interventions:

Load shedding ‘an option’ for UK, EU if winter crisis worsens

Ursula von der Leyen is the President of the EU Commission. Speaking on Wednesday, she made it clear that the bloc would set a mandatory target ‘to reduce electricity use’ at peak hours, in a bid to stave-off the very worst outcome of total grid collapse.

Just when we thought we’d heard the last of ‘flattening the curve’, too…

“At peak demands, the expensive gas comes into the market. What we have to do is flatten the curve by avoiding these peak demands. We will propose a mandatory target for reducing electricity use at peak hours, working closely with member states to achieve this.” | Ursula von der Leyen