The Government of Ontario announced on Friday that it has approved a new executive compensation plan at provincial utility Hydro One (TSX:H).
Under the revised framework, the maximum total compensation for the company’s chief executive officer will be $1.5 million, with a maximum base salary of $500,000. Performance targets will include the CEO’s role in reducing electricity transmission and distribution costs.
"Hydro One's compliance with this directive allows us to move forward as a province," said Ontario Energy Minister Greg Rickford in a written statement. "It sets the company on the right course for the future, proving that it can operate as a top-class electricity utility while reining in executive compensation and increasing public transparency."
Rickford issued a formal directive last month compelling Hydro One to set its CEO's base salary no higher than $500,000 with a maximum of $1 million in incentives. The company had previously refused repeated requests to slash the CEO pay below the previous mark of nearly $3 million.
Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government promised last year to take action on Hydro One executive salaries, dubbing then-CEO Mayo Schmidt the "six-million-dollar man." Shortly after the Conservatives won the provincial election, they forced Schmidt to resign. The Ontario utility said Friday that it will continue the search for a full-time CEO to replace interim CEO Paul Dobson.
