Con Edison late Wednesday reported a slightly lower pay package for its CEO, two months after Gov. Kathy Hochul reacted to the utility’s request for a big rate increase by saying she would audit how top executives get compensated.
In a securities filing, Con Ed said CEO Timothy Cawley was awarded a total of $15 million in pay including salary, bonus and stock awards last year. That was a 7% drop from his 2023 compensation of $16.2 million.
Hochul wasn’t impressed, according to a spokesman, who noted Thursday that elevated compensation is why the governor directed state regulators to “take an axe” to Con Ed’s rate request.
“Such exorbitant levels of corporate executive pay in an economy of extreme pay disparity is egregious when families are actively struggling to pay their monthly utility bills,” said Hochul spokesman Paul DeMichele.
Con Ed says compensation is in line with broader utility industry CEOs as well as general industries within the metropolitan area. It added: “Con Edison operates one of the most complex energy systems in the world and that requires high-caliber leadership to drive our nation-leading reliability and deliver on New York’s clean energy goals.”
Pay at ConEd became a political flash point after the utility in January asked for a rate increase that would raise the average customer’s bill by 11% for electricity and 13% for gas. The money would help fund $21.6 billion in capital investments for the 2026-28 period, which brokerage firm Evercore ISI said represents an 83% increase over the currently approved $11.8 billion for 2023-2025. Con Ed says the investments are to help keep the lights on for 9 million customers during ever-more-frequent major storms.
Con Ed’s latest request is only for one year of billing to customers, meaning it will likely soon be asking for additional increases, although state regulators could force the utility to wait. Seeing a chance to stand up for those struggling with overheated prices for rent and food, in February Hochul directed the Department of Public Service to conduct a “comprehensive review” of how Con Ed and other utilities pay top executives.
“This audit will ensure that utility compensation structures are working for New Yorkers, not rewarding expected behavior,” she said.
The utility’s securities disclosure does not suggest Con Ed has taken action based on Hochul’s feedback. Cawley’s reported total pay fell last year because the value of his pension rose by $3 million less than the year before, its filing shows. That change reflects shifting asset prices but doesn’t reduce his retirement benefit. Public companies typically report executive pay this way.
But based on what actually hit his bank or brokerage account, the CEO’s pay actually rose by $1.7 million, or 15%, to $12 million. Most of the increase was shouldered by shareholders after the company upped Cawley’s bonus to $8 million in stock from the prior year’s $6.6 million. His salary, paid in cash from rate-payers, was bumped up by $50,000 to about $1.4 million.
The state’s examination into Con Ed executive pay is the first of its kind, Evercore ISI analyst Durgesh Chopra said in a report to clients.
“Given the size of the rate case and the political climate in New York, we will closely monitor the proceedings for developments,” he wrote.
Negotiations between the state and Con Ed are expected to begin in July, Chopra said, with a settlement reached by year end.
