Here's how much money CenterPoint's CEO made in 2023

Jon Webb, Evansville Courier & Press

EVANSVILLE – CenterPoint Energy’s now-retired chief executive officer made a little more than $16 million in compensation in 2023, federal filings show.

That’s about 337 times more than the median household income for Evansville, which census figures list at $48,127.

According to CenterPoint’s 2024 proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the majority of David J. Lesar’s compensation last year came in the form of stock awards and something called “non-equity incentive plan compensation." The filing defines that as “short-term incentive awards earned with respect to performance in the designated year and paid in the following year.”

Here’s the breakdown listed in the document:

  • Salary: $1,493,269

  • Stock awards: $9,900,034

  • Non-equity incentive plan compensation: $4,068,750

  • All other compensation: $742,421

That final “all other compensation” chunk includes what the company calls “security-related services” to protect “Mr. Lesar’s safety, health and well-being.” It involves use of a company or chartered jet, protective personnel and a personal driver.

Lesar retired as CEO on Jan. 5 and was replaced by Jason Wells, who also made several million dollars in 2023.

According to the filing, Wells made $969,039 in salary; $3,919,966 in stock; $1,972,250 in non-equity incentive plan compensation; and $220,210 in “all other compensation.”

CenterPoint looking to increase Evansville-area electric bills

Lesar’s compensation came as CenterPoint again seeks to raise Evansville-area electric bills.

If approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the company’s proposal would hike a residential electric bill for 1,000 kilowatt hours from $207.20 to $253.40, according to the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor.

Evansville customers already pay the highest residential electric rates in the state.

The OUCC, the Evansville City Council and Citizens Action Coalition have intervened in the case. On Friday, CenterPoint filed an update with the IURC on "settlement discussions" claiming that an "agreement in principle has been reached among less than all of the parties."

The filing didn't provide any further details, saying only that CenterPoint plans to vacate the schedule of the current hearings and move forward with the reported agreement.

During packed public hearings at Old National Events Plaza on Feb. 29, more than 70 ratepayers and public officials took the mic to beg the IURC to turn down the potential increases. Some said they often had to choose between buying groceries and medicine or paying their CenterPoint bill. Others said if the increase goes through, they would have no choice but to leave town.

In testimony filed with the IURC in April, Richard C. Leger, the senior vice president of CenterPoint's Indiana electric branch, called those concerns “extreme scenarios.” Affordability, he said, is a complicated matter that can only be “easily addressed” in a “utopian world.”

To help people struggling to pay their bills, he said the utility promotes bill assistance programs, supports the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and offers payment plans.

Leger’s $16 million compensation is actually a steep decline from what he made in 2021.

That year, his stock awards totaled more than $33 million, giving him a total compensation of more than $37.8 million. In a statement to the Courier & Press at the time, CenterPoint called that year’s stock payment a “one-time retention award.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Here's how much CenterPoint's CEO was paid in 2023

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