SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — San Diegans are amped up about not being able to afford high utility rates.
It may surprise you to learn that the CEO of Sempra Energy made $23 million in annual compensation.
CBS 8 took a closer look at the compensation packages for executives at Sempra Energy and SDG&E, as we continue working to get answers.
CEO Jeffrey W. Martin is the top man at San Diego Gas & Electric’s parent company, Sempra Energy.
He made more than $23 million in total compensation in 2020 (the latest year where salary information is available in Sempra’s public SEC filings).
Martin’s compensation included $1.3 million in base salary, $3.7 million in cash bonuses, and $10.5 million in pension earnings.
Martin has a couple emails: jmartin@sempra.com or jwmartin@sempraglobal.com.
$23 million sounds like a lot of money to Edward Lopez, the executive director of the Utility Consumers’ Action Network in San Diego.
“UCAN certainly believes that Sempra executive compensation levels are out of wack,” Lopez told CBS 8.
As a consumer advocate, Lopez keeps track of compensation and profit earnings for both Sempra Energy and SDG&E.
“Sempra takes those profits and that certainly drives compensation for the Sempra executives,” said Lopez.
When it comes to SDG&E’s CEO, Caroline Winn, her compensation numbers are harder to find because employee names are redacted in a 2020 compensation filing with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
“You don't have complete information. You might find it, ironically, for the Sempra executive leaders. But we're having a challenge and why isn't the CPUC more forthcoming in terms of what these SDG&E leaders are earning?” asked Lopez.
Winn is the chief executive officer at SDG&E. And according to the redacted CPUC filings, the highest paid "executive officer" at SDG&E earned $10 million in total compensation in 2020.
Winn's email is: cwinn@semprautilities.com.
Compensation information for SDG&E’s President and Chief Financial Officer, Bruce Folkmann, is equally hard to come by online.
He earned more than $1 million in total compensation in 2019, according to SEC filings, when he worked for the Sempra-owned Southern Califorina Gas Company, and later that year, for SDG&E.
Folkmann's email is bfolkmann@semprautilities.com.
CBS 8 requested that SDG&E release total compensation numbers for both Winn and Folkmann. A spokesperson emailed us the following statement instead:
"California Senate Bill 901, signed by Gov Jerry Brown, 2018, and codified in PUC Code, prohibits electrical and gas corporations from using ratepayer dollars for executive compensation. Compensation is instead funded solely by shareholders. We appreciate you reaching out and have nothing further to add."
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