OAKLAND — PG&E handed out higher executive compensation for the utility leviathan’s top boss and other key execs in 2023, pay increases that arrive at a time of soaring monthly bills and rising profits.
Patricia Poppe, chief executive officer at PG&E, was among the top executives who harvested an increase in total direct compensation, a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows.
Poppe was awarded slightly less than $17 million — $16.99 million, to be precise — in her total direct compensation from PG&E for the company’s 2023 fiscal year that ended in December.
That was roughly 20.3% higher than Poppe’s total direct compensation, generically known as executive pay, for 2022, when PG&E awarded her about $14.1 million.
“Our executives’ compensation was tied to delivering the improvements in safety, operational and financial performance that PG&E achieved in 2023,” PG&E spokesperson Mike Gazda said.
An average of about 74% of a PG&E executive’s compensation is tied to performance, according to the company.
“If PG&E hadn’t delivered on its promises, that would be reflected in executive compensation,” Gazda said.
Of the 11 named company executives listed in the regulatory report, five received an increase in total direct compensation while six received decreases, a review by this news organization of a key table in PG&E’s annual filing with the SEC filing shows.
Poppe also harvested a gain of $24.4 million through the vesting during 2023 of an award of restricted stock, the SEC filing shows.
In 2023, PG&E’s profits soared higher, buoyed by surging electricity and natural gas revenues.
The power company earned an eye-popping $2.24 billion in profits in 2023, an increase of 24.6% from 2022, PG&E reported in February.
PG&E also predicted in the financial results report that its shareholders can anticipate that 2024 will produce even greater profits.
“Less than 1% of the reported 2023 profits were paid to shareholders,” PG&E stated in an email the company sent to this news organization. “More than 99% are being re-invested back into our energy system to improve how we serve customers and support our return to financial health.”
Customers don’t pay for the company’s executive compensation. Plus, executive pay isn’t included in the monthly utility bills that customers pay, according to PG&E.
“PG&E executive compensation complies with California Public Utilities Commission and other regulatory requirements and has been approved by California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety,” the company stated.