Top utility chiefs got a 16% pay raise last year even as electric customers faced higher Energy Bill costs, more shutoffs and new rate requests. Average CEO compensation at the largest utilities rose to $12.3 million, according to an analysis by the Energy and Policy Institute.
The review found pay increased at 38 of 51 top utilities, with the raises alone totaling $82 million. That came in a year when utilities shut off power to customers 13 million times, federal data showed, and consumers paid as much as 6.7% more on their electric bills between 2024 and 2025.
For many households, the figures land at a time when utility bills have climbed as much as 40% in some regions since 2021. Jonathan Kim said the issue “feel[s] unjust at face value” and added that customers should not be “footing the bill for these people’s grotesquely large salaries.”
The report is based on a review of companies’ financial records, and it puts a sharper price tag on a debate that has been building for years. Since 2017, utility CEO compensation has risen 47% on average, while customers for the companies examined have collectively paid more than $5 billion for CEO pay.
The biggest increase went to Bill Ferhman, whose compensation package rose by $23 million, or 176%, to $36.6 million. Tim Cawley’s pay jumped by $4.9 million, or 33%, to about $20 million, and Chris Womack received a $4.3 million, or 18%, increase to $28 million. John Ketchum was the nation’s third highest-paid CEO in 2025 with a $24 million package.
Those numbers sit alongside evidence of continued strain on customers. American Electric Power turned off service 173,000 times last year, and NextEra Energy subsidiary Florida Power & Light asked state regulators for approval for a record $6.9 billion rate hike.
Utilities say executive pay is tied to performance and the need to recruit leaders for complicated systems. A ConEd spokesperson said compensation is meant to attract and retain leadership, support reliability and meet clean energy goals, and noted that most pay is performance-based and paid by shareholders. Southern Company said its program is tied to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy. An AEP spokesperson said the structure aligns leadership incentives with the long-term interests of customers, communities and shareholders.
Still, the report says some executives received raises even after failing to meet performance standards, including outage targets, and that customers often helped cover perks such as private jets and condominiums. With bills climbing and shutoffs still high, the dispute over who pays for the industry’s leadership is not easing any time soon.
