When NStar, one of the state’s biggest utilities, wanted to merge with Northeast Utilities in 2010, the two companies filed thousands of pages of documents with various government agencies detailing their makeup, their financials, and the expected consumer benefits of the consolidation.
But in the months since the deal closed, the combined company has not produced a single page that fully discloses how much compensation its chief executive, Thomas J. May, received in 2012.
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I note that the NStar website strongly implies they can walk on water. But this sort of thing can usually be ascribed to the machinations of corporate illigitimate rodents (RB's) in suits, rather than coincidence.
The people involved with this, including May, and whatever board members, etc, who are involved, are embarrassed by the numbers. That is the obvious explanation for the secrecy. They are petrified that if numbers were revealed, there would be an uproar. Then they would be left scrambling. The predictable response to the public would be the usual deluge of lame, inbred excuses. "We must retain qualified talent". "The marketplace demands and expects certain compensation for highly qualified leaders". "If we didn't pay for our leaders, they would bolt and get more money elsewhere". blah, blah, blah.
It's probably safe to say that the chief puts his pants on one leg at a time. He probably has only 24 hours in each day as well as 7 days in each week. How much more any one person can bring to the table is not at all a matter of question. Executive pay is grossly disproportionate to the value added. Business leaders are not entertainers with unique skills. They are not athletes who are bringing rare talents and who put themselves at physical risk. No one business person is worth the kind of money that is thrown around in executive circles. But they and their minions have convinced themselves it is so, and they will not be dissuaded from their irrational beliefs. And the rest of us pay the price.
I agree that executive compensation is out of control but you're making it out like anyone can run a business. Business leaders, in general, do have unique skills and intelligence. That's how they got into the positions they're in. That said, they can also be incredibly greedy and boards, who set executive compensation, aren't doing their jobs by doling out extreme pay packages that dwarf those of the average worker.
Lastly, we also pay the price for overpaid athletes and entertainers through higher ticket prices. Most families can't afford to go to a sporting event. Unfortunately these are the times we live in.
It is much worse than that. This is a utility, not exactly a cut-throat marketplace. How hard does one have to work to sell something to people that they can't live without and there is none-to-little competition? The amount of his pay is already rediculous, to think that there is more that they won't even report is unreal.
I am personally outraged. It has nothing to do with the guy in the position, it is about corporate hubris. NStar is a public utility and should be providing a totally transparent accounting of everything to the Dept of Public Utilities. This behavior should be totally unacceptable, especially given how terrible they are in repsonsiveness to outages and in customer responsiveness in general (My personal story is that I had a short in my feed to my house in the middle of winter with frigid temps, and they told me I had to wait weeks to get a replacement - I had to go through several hoops and get a special approval to get what hsould have been automatic).
I suggest that we tell the DPU at 617-305-3575, or EPD.Filing@state.ma.us that they can't let these guys get away with it.
I lean free market, but a utility is a state sanctioned monopoly. These companies should be ultra-transparent in their finances. It's not as though May built this company form scratch He's a lucky accountant who is a caretaker role. It's not worthy of multi-seven figures comp.