No Bonuses for Utility Executives Act

The "No Bonuses for Utility Executives Act" aims to restrict executive bonuses for State-regulated electric utilities, effective January 1, 2027. Under this legislation, a covered utility may only pay an executive bonus for a fiscal year if its average customer rate increase for that year does not exceed the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). Additionally, any authorized bonus is capped at 25 percent of the median annual compensation of the utility's non-executive employees. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is tasked with determining a utility's eligibility for bonuses and the maximum allowable amount, based on information provided by the utility. If a bonus is paid in violation of these provisions, or if the utility provides false information, the bonus is forfeited to the United States . FERC will then impose a civil penalty on the utility equal to the forfeited amount, which cannot be recovered through customer rates, and these collected funds will be distributed as payments directly to the utility's customers.