Useful terms within the electricity sector

Terms used by electricity providers

Load is the electricity being used by the customers of the electricity supplier at a given moment.

Capacity is the maximum possible supply by the electricity supplier.

Load curtailment is load shedding plus load reduction, and it is implemented when load exceeds capacity.

Load shedding is forcibly eliminating some loads, typically experienced by customers as blackouts or rolling blackouts.

Load reduction is requiring users to temporarily reduce their electricity usage, typically by reducing business activity.

A blackout is the termination of electrical supply in an area.

Rolling blackouts are purposeful and temporary blackouts in multiple areas over a period of time in order to shed electrical load.

Demand-side management is a strategy used by electricity suppliers to convince customers to change their day-to-day behaviour, resulting in lower electricity use.

References:

UDC (nersa.org.za)

Curtailment of Electricity | Definition & Information (next-kraftwerke.com)

What is Demand Side Management? | Enel X Global Retail