Load shedding is a controlled process that responds to unplanned events in order to protect the electricity power system from a total blackout. It is a phenomenon that has been an ongoing issue in South Africa for at least the past decade, from roughly 2003 towards the end of then-President Thabo Mbekis second term. Load shedding refers to strategic blackouts in South Africa, where citizens are left without power between six to twelve hours a day. The load shedding process means turning off the electricity supply to ease pressure on a failing power grid. In South Africa, load shedding has been a recurring problem for many years, and one of its main causes is the countrys heavy reliance on coal-fired power plants. These plants are aging and often require maintenance, resulting in breakdowns and unplanned outages that reduce the amount of electricity available to the grid. In addition, the countrys coal supply has been unreliable due to operational issues and disruptions caused by labor strikes. Load shedding has had various impacts on South Africa, including economic effects, incidents of metal theft, house breaking, and robberies due to a lack of security lighting and alarms, and protests over the frequency and extent of load shedding.