Watch: Sea Point Plunged into Darkness During Electricity Blackout

A view of Sea Point moments before the electricity gets switched off by Eskom. Eskom said today that it was forced to implement the higher load-shedding stages because six generating units had broken down. The news comes against the backdrop of an increasingly flailing economy, with the South African Reserve Bank saying this week that the ongoing electricity supply challenges were expected to shrink economic growth to a paltry 0.3% this year, which could result in job losses.

In addition, under-pressure South Africans are not only facing electricity supply shortages but escalating energy prices as Eskom has been granted permission to impose an 18.65% tariff increase from April 1 this year. Video Armand Hough