The U.S. electric utility sector is again rewarding CEOs with larger compensation packages, after a slight dip in 2020, and the pay gap with median employees is increasing, according to a Utility Dive analysis of nearly 40 major investor-owned utilities across eight years. A decline in median employee pay is driving the widening pay ratio, which could indicate that a higher-paid, more-experienced workforce is retiring.
In addition, as the utility sector adapts to the global push for decarbonization, regulators and shareholders alike are focused on how CEOs are steering utility businesses, which historically have been slow to change. Along these lines, some activist investors are pressing to link CEO compensation to utility decarbonization efforts.
