Load shedding as an emergency brake

The energy in Europe’s high-voltage grids is transmitted at a constant frequency of 50 hertz. This grid frequency must not be exceeded, otherwise there is the risk of an interregional or national power failure. Automatic load shedding is the grid’s emergency brake.

Preventing underfrequencies…

An underfrequency can occur when consumption increases dramatically or a power plant suddenly fails. In order to prevent an underfrequency, individual supply regions have to be detached from the grid: this causes power outages. The load on the grid is reduced and a constant frequency of 50 hertz is once again achieved.

…through automatic load shedding

In the event of frequency-dependent load shedding, individual grid components are automatically disconnected when certain measured values are reached. The supply regions to be detached are selected at random, as all have an equal chance of a power failure. This emergency brake restabilises the electricity grid. After only a few hours, all consumers are supplied with electricity again.