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• load-shedding
  load-shedding

  noun

  the deliberate shutdown of electric power in a part or parts of a power-distribution system, generally to prevent the failure of the entire system when the demand strains the capacity of the system.
• load shedding
  load shedding

  noun

  the act or practice of temporarily reducing the supply of electricity to an area to avoid overloading the generators

load-shedding

American  

[lohd-shed-ing] / ˈloʊdˌʃɛd ɪŋ /

Or loadshedding

noun

1. the deliberate shutdown of electric power in a part or parts of a power-distribution system, generally to prevent the failure of the entire system when the demand strains the capacity of the system.

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load shedding British  

noun

1. the act or practice of temporarily reducing the supply of electricity to an area to avoid overloading the generators

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Etymology

Origin of load-shedding

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

load-shedding load shedding

Ghising, 55, won significant public support when he led the Nepal Electricity Authority in tackling the Himalayan country's load-shedding crisis.

From Barron's ● Dec. 30, 2025

It is a far cry from when we first met in March last year, at the height of South Africa’s power crisis and frequent load-shedding, the official term for scheduled power cuts.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2024

“We're not out of the woods yet, but the probability of us going back to load-shedding is very slim if we keep doing what we are doing currently”, says Daphne Mokwena.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2024

"When load-shedding is really, really bad, we find ourselves using our profit to run," Mr Makhubu said.

From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2023

"Sorry there's load-shedding the first night you arrive, Tara. The power should be back soon, though. And the air-conditioning."

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

At an ice cream parlour in Soweto, one company has been struggling to keep their frozen treats cold amid rolling power-cuts, referred to locally as "load shedding".

From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2023

"Inevitably, load shedding has disrupted customers, with some impact on turnover. Of greater consequence, however, are the substantial unplanned costs incurred in running localised power generation for stores."

From Reuters ● Feb. 8, 2023

Meaning: When demand for electricity exceeds supply, a operator implements load shedding.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2022

"As a last resort, organised, temporary and rotating load shedding outages can be activated to avoid a widespread incident," RTE said.

From Reuters ● Sep. 14, 2022

“The problem is that with increased frequency of load shedding the batteries don’t have time to recharge properly and the phones don’t work,” he said.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2022