'When is this madness going to end?': Eskom bonus report sparks ire

“When is this madness going to end? When are we going to stop rewarding dismal performance?”

DA MP Ghaleb Cachalia posed the question on Sunday as the country felt the impact of rolling blackouts and simultaneously read reports that Eskom allegedly wanted taxpayers to cough up a further R1.8bn for performance bonuses up until 2022.

City Press reported that the bonus claim was made in papers filed by the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) which is hauling the power utility to court on Wednesday over its demand for an additional R69bn from consumers. Nersa deducted the bailout from Eskom’s approved revenue for the current tariff period. Eskom, however, views the decision as irrational and unreasonable.

“South Africans are barely into the new year, and despite President Ramaphosa’s assurance in December last year that there would be no load-shedding until mid-January, Eskom announced last night that it would implement load-shedding,” Cachalia said in a statement.

“We were also told that leave had been cancelled for Eskom managers and executives. Despite these assurances South Africans are facing a rude introduction to the new year. Moreover, Eskom now wants to reward its workforce with R1.8bn in performance bonuses between 2019 and 2022, regardless of a debt that has ballooned to R450bn,” he added.

“When is this madness going to end? When are we going to stop rewarding dismal performance?

“To add insult to injury Eskom is also seeking to squeeze an additional R69bn out of consumers, via a price hike — an application which Nersa is opposing.

“When is SA going to be told the unvarnished truth about the mismanagement and ongoing theft that bedevils this crucial supplier of public goods to the economy and country?”

Stage two load-shedding continued on Sunday and was expected to last until early on Monday. But in an evening update, Eskom said load-shedding would end at 11pm on Sunday.

"Load-shedding will be terminated at 11pm this evening, earlier than anticipated as our water levels at pumped storage schemes have been adequately replenished. We have managed to conserve diesel at our open cycle gas turbine generators, and continue to work to replenish the diesel levels," said the power utility.