No Bonuses for Utility Executives Act

Limits on utility executive bonuses

If enacted, beginning January 1, 2027, covered utilities would only be able to pay executive bonuses for a fiscal year if the utility's average customer rate increase for that year did not exceed the 12‑month change in the CPI‑U ending on the fiscal year end. Any allowed bonus would be capped at 25% of the utility's median annual pay for non‑executive employees for that year. Covered utilities would have to report, within 7 days after the fiscal year ends, the average rate increase and the median non‑executive pay. The Commission would have 30 days after that report to decide whether a bonus is allowed and the maximum amount, and a utility could not pay the bonus before that decision. After paying a bonus, the utility would have 7 days to notify the Commission, which would have 30 days to check compliance. If a bonus violated the rules, or notice was late or false, the bonus would be forfeited to the United States, the Commission would collect a civil penalty equal to the forfeited amount, and the Secretary would send each customer a payment equal to the collected amount divided by the number of customers. A covered utility would not be allowed to recover the civil penalty through customer rates.