Spokane7
60°
March 24, 2009 in City, Idaho
Avista CEO’s promotion boosts salary
Scott Morris, Avista Corp.’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, earned $2.2 million in total compensation last year, the utility reported Tuesday.
The salary reflects Morris’ promotion to chairman and chief executive officer of Avista Corp., roles that he assumed on Jan. 1, 2008, when the former chairman and CEO retired. Morris earned $1.1 million in 2007, when he was president and chief operating officer of Avista Utilities, the firm’s regulated utility.
“Our executives are paid mid-range of what their peers are paid,” said Jessie Wuerst, an Avista spokeswoman. “That’s what it takes to run a $2 billion company.”
Morris’ earnings were reported in Avista’s proxy statement to shareholders.
Morris’ total income included $626,308 in salary; $404,597 in cash incentives, which requires meeting a number of performance targets; and $620,897 in stock awards. An increase in the value of Morris’ pension – $559,753 – is also included in Morris’s total income, even though it’s not a cash payout, Wuerst said.
Miners to return to Lucky Friday 
DocTom on March 24 at 6:14 p.m.
“They” tell me that Avista is a “public utility”. I understand very clearly that my Avista bills continue to increase each year along with Avista’s executive compensation levels. “Mid-range”??? I don’t buy that at all. Please tell the folks, like myself a disabled senior, who are struggling to make their Avista bill every month that the good Chairman’s pay is “Mid-range”. Whoever allows this ongoing abuse within our various State Regulatory Agency should be fired. This is nothing short of Robin Hood in reverse.
cryssT on March 24 at 8:16 p.m.
Avista, the NW’s version of AIG.
flutieflakes on March 25 at 12:32 a.m.
Hey, the shareholders must love these guys. They were able to combat the rising cost of energy by jacking up prices, increasing EPS by 86% in 2008, and dividends by about 16%. This is despite its retail customers using slightly less natural gas and electricity on average. How did these outstanding results happen in this difficult environment? Take a bow, Spokane and the surrounding regions, because according to the “Executive Level Summary” on page 23 of their Annual Report, these earning increases were caused “primarily by implementation of general rate increases in Washington and Idaho”.
http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/97/97267/AVA2008AnnualReport_Form10-K1_FINAL.pdf
jmeckel on March 25 at 7:43 a.m.
You’ve got to be kidding me! Avista gets sued for trespassing, our rates go up. Avista has a record breaking profit year, the rates go up. The CEO gets double the salary. Has this company ever heard of a recession?