The decision not to proceed with the signing on of independent power producers (IPP) to the grid should rule out Eskom chief executive officer Brian Molefe from getting a performance bonus.

That’s according to the Democratic Aliliance’s (DA) Natasha Mazzone‚ who on Friday challenged the power utility’s “bosses to do the right thing and reject R18.3-million in short- and long-term performance bonuses thereby doing their part to mitigate South Africans having to foot the bill for the 9.4% electricity tariff hike”.She said the decision on IPPs “will have far-reaching‚ negative ramifications for the stability of our energy supply and inevitably lead to blackouts which will undermine investment”.“Ultimately the economy and job creation will be the casualty if Molefe persists with his announcement‚” Mazzone added."For this alone‚ Molefe does not deserve a bonus."BDlive reported earlier on Friday that Eskoms decision that it will not sign further power purchase agreements with IPPs has alarmed the market and will have "a chilling effect" on private sector investment in the energy sector and more broadly‚ say renewable energy generators and manufacturers.Mazzone said that the “construction of new power stations are over-budget and long overdue” should also preclude the Eskom executives from getting payouts.“This is a signal of gross under-performance which disqualifies the reasons for awarding performance bonuses in the first place‚” she added.“Since load-shedding began in 2008‚ Eskom Executives have received over R73-million in bonuses‚ excluding the R18.3-million revealed earlier this month. This is an insult to hard-working and poor South Africans who continue to struggle without a stable supply of electricity and basic services.“We urge the 11 Eskom directors and executives to help keeping the lights on for all South Africans by allowing the bonus funds to offset the tariff hikes even more so considering that ordinary taxpayers were forced to cover the bill for a R23-billion Eskom bailout in 2015.” – TMG Digital..