"Load shedding" is suddenly South Africa's most commonly used phrase.The state's power utility, Eskom, says load shedding occurs when it becomes necessary to interrupt the electricity supply because demand cannot be met. More simply, load shedding is a euphemism for the blackouts that have beset the nation for the past two to three weeks. The traffic in Johannesburg is at a standstill more than usual at the moment. With the lights out, there is chaos at intersections as frustrated motorists find their journey to and from work taking twice as long.
