In South Africa, every December (since 5 December 2014) the residents are suffering from electricity cut by Eskom for at least two hours per day and that results to some negative impacts e.g. it disturbs businesses without back-up systems such as educational institutions, clinics and some community serving businesses . Apart from increasing coal supplies, what can be done whether scientifically to avoid this suffering of residents and businesses?
I have worked in the power industry since 1980 in the US and around the world. Consumers in developed countries take many things for granted, including readily available and dependent electricity. They pitch a fit if the lights flicker; whereas, people in developing countries are grateful if the power is on some time each day. It takes a huge investment in infrastructure to provide and maintain consistent electrical power. This investment spans decades and is easy to underestimate. There is no cheap and quick substitute for reserve capacity and resilience. If you demand it now, the cost will be staggering. There is an old saying: "Good, cheap, or fast--pick any two." This is quite applicable to electric power. People who want to go totally solar and get off the grid will be shocked at how much the equipment to do this will cost. A recent example in the news is worth considering: Elon Musk (of Space-X and Tesla fame) said he would put up solar panels all over Puerto Rico so they wouldn't be without power during the next hurricane. That'll work... until the wind blows. Ever held up a sheet of plywood in gale-force wind? The structures required to protect solar panels during a hurricane would cost more than conventional power production and distribution equipment. Don't forget the flying coconuts. Plan on the long haul and don't be easily led down short cut paths through the swamp.
Load shedding is strategically performed by the electric utilities as work around the peak demand periods. In India for example, daily periodic brownout, and possibly blackout, is done for the residential customers during the daily peak demand periods. Accordingly, residential customers can use backup rechargeable batteries or small diesel generators to produce power during the brownout periods of the day.
In general, renewable energy sources such as wind farms and solar PV farms are suitable backup means for energy generation when conventional electricity generation (burning coal, natural gas, or oil) faces peak load demands.
Hope this help answer your question and good luck!
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