Eskom performs load research in various areas, often following the same process and drawing on the same information sources. This leads to duplication of effort and unnecessary delays, as well as additional costs when collecting the information required for the research.

The Load Studies Data Store (LSDS) was initiated as a result of the duplication of effort and delays experienced by many researchers when drawing data from the same information sources within the organisation and externally. As a result, the LSDS project was initiated to store datasets relevant to research and forecasting in a central location. This project was implemented over a three-year period and began as a proof of concept which took a year to complete. The LSDS project complemented the already vast set of datasets on the Eskom data warehouse with research data which was not previously available to all Eskom users.

In addition, the design of this research data mart also made it possible to perform comparisons on disparate datasets across the organisation, seamlessly producing new insights into the organisation.