PG&E’s CEO gets Paid $17 Million. Here’s how that Compares to Other Utility Leaders

Source: SF Chronicle  |  By Emma Stiefel

PG&E CEO Patricia Poppe took home $17 million in the 2023 fiscal year, including her $1.4 million salary and $11.8 million in stock awards. That was up by nearly $3 million from 2022, when she made $14.1 million in compensation. While critics believe this hearty pay package is uncalled for amid soaring energy bills, PG&E has argued that they are paying market rate for top talent.

Mark Toney, Executive Director of The Utility Reform Network, believes it’s unfair that Poppe made $17 million while PG&E customers suffer from historic rate increases. Poppe received about $3 for each of the 5.5 million PG&E electricity customer accounts, though her pay does not come directly from customer rates. Her total compensation was over three times the $5.4 million PG&E's highest-paid executive vice president received in 2023. “Customers have a right to be upset that the PG&E board and investors are willing to pay so much to the CEO and other executives in the face of record-breaking bills,” Toney told the Chronicle. “​​Anyone who’s paying a PG&E bill is unhappy about this.”