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By Erin Ailworth
The chief executive of Unitil Corp., the utility widely criticized for its response to a December ice storm that left thousands of Greater Fitchburg area customers without electricity for up to two weeks, recently was awarded nearly $300,000 for outperforming his 2008 job goals, financial documents filed yesterday show.Unitil spokesman Wesley Eberle would not comment on the payment, which helped bump Robert G. Schoenberger's total annual compensation to nearly $1.3 million - up from almost $1.2 million in 2007. Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show the performance-based incentive was granted Feb. 16 at 133 percent of his targeted goal, for a total of $294,796. The smallest percentage of his incentive award, 10 percent, was based on customer satisfaction, while the largest, 25 percent, was tied to company earnings.
Eberle defended Schoenberger's leadership, citing his reputation as a top executive in the business world, as well as the company's recent acquisition of Northern Utilities and a planned rate decrease. He called Unitil a "well-run utility with effective, efficient management." Schoenberger was named one of America's best chief executives in 2007 by DeMarche Associates Inc., a consulting firm.
News of the extra payment angered Unitil customers and government officials, who called the utility's actions "unconscionable," given its performance following the storm.
"I think they are a deplorable company that does not deserve to be the utility provider for our region," said Cathy Clark, a Lunenburg resident who lost power for 11 days and started a petition against Unitil.
Unitil is under investigation by the state Department of Public Utilities for its response to the Dec. 11 storm that downed trees and wires across a wide swath of Massachusetts, but hit the Fitchburg area particularly hard - 28,000 customers were left without electricity. Robert Keough, a spokesman for the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which oversees the public utilities department, declined to comment on Schoenberger's pay.
Despite the rancor customers directed at Unitil, a person familiar with the utility's operations, who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak on its behalf, said company response to the storm was not dramatically bad or good, given the extreme circumstances.
The person also noted Unitil's stock has performed relatively well, one of the measures of Schoenberger's performance. The company, which has about 400 employees, reported more than $288 million total operating revenue in 2008.
In December it acquired Northern Utilities, a natural gas utility serving customers in Maine and New Hampshire. It also acquired Granite State, an interstate natural gas pipeline.
Still, more than a dozen customers have filed a class-action lawsuit against Unitil in Worcester Superior Court, seeking compensation for temporary housing and other expenses, as well as property damage incurred during the storm.
The storm cost Unitil an estimated $10 million in repairs and replacement of damaged electric-distribution systems, or about half of its annual operating income, according to filings. Company officials have called the storm one of the worst it has experienced.
"There's no doubt here that this was a devastating storm for all our customers, and particularly for the communities of northern Worcester County," Eberle said. "We've learned a lot of lessons and have already begun implementing changes to how we work and how we respond to storms so that we can better serve our customers."
But for customers like Clark, the changes are coming too late.
"Can you put a laugh in the paper?" she said. "The point is that this company pays million dollar salaries to their top executives while they have an employee base of 300 people to service 28,000 in Massachusetts. . . . It's greed at it's finest. In this economy it's not acceptable."
In addition to Schoenberger, three other Unitil executives also received awards for exceeding 2008 job goals. Their payments ranged from about $77,000 to $101,000, filings show.
"Where do I begin?" said Representative Stephen DiNatale, a Fitchburg native, expressing his displeasure at the awards. "This would be just one more assault and insult to the customers they claim to care about."