Eskom Implements Stage 5 Loadshedding Until Monday Morning After 5 More Generating Units Break Down

• South Africa's power utility company Eskom has moved to Stage 5 loadshedding after five generating units broke down overnight
• Eskom issued a statement stating that Stage 5 will be implemented from Saturday to Monday 19 September at 5am
• The statement further noted that any changes that might occur will be communicated through relevant channels

South Africa faces a dark weekend after the country's power utility company Eskom moved the loadshedding schedule to Stage 5.

The sudden move resulted from five generating units that broke down overnight.

According to Moneyweb, by implementing Stage 5, Eskom will cut almost 5 000 megawatts of electricity from the country's grid to prevent a complete grid collapse.

TimesLIVE reports that Eskom issued a statement stating that loadshedding will move to Stage 5 from Saturday morning until Monday, 19 September, at 5am.

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"Regretfully, the breakdown of five generating units overnight and this morning, with a combined capacity of 2,400MW, has necessitated the escalation of loadshedding to Stage 5 from 10am this morning.

"This loadshedding will be implemented until 5am on Monday. Should any further breakdowns occur, higher stages of loadshedding may be implemented at short notice. On Sunday, through a media briefing, Eskom will provide the outlook of the loadshedding stages for the week ahead as the teams are working around the clock to return units to service."

Loadshedding allegedly sparks a fire, Eastern Cape family loses everything in blaze

In more news, Briefly News also reported that a family was left homeless with just the clothes on their back after their home was destroyed allegedly by an electrical explosion. Fortunately, no one was injured during the blaze.

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The fire allegedly ignited due to a power surge when electricity returned after loadshedding on Friday, 9 September. Neighbours of the Dlisani family attempted to put out the fire with buckets of water, but their attempts went in vain.

Speaking to News24, Siwaphiwe Dlisani said the fire destroyed everything in the house, and nothing was salvageable. She said her sister was cooking earlier that day, and when the power was restored, there was an explosion shortly after.

Source: Briefly News