Dominion Energy slashes CEO's cash payout on long-term goals

By Tim McLaughlin

March 28 (Reuters) - Dominion Energy D.N CEO Robert Blue missed out on taking home more than $4 million in cash after the utility's shareholder return and operating profit during 2022-2024 failed to meet performance targets.

Blue received $438,240, just 9% of the potential target payout of nearly $5 million, the company disclosed on Friday in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Dominion's total shareholder return ranked second lowest among peers over the 3-year period, leading to no payout on that goal, which accounted for 50% of Blue's performance-based target compensation. The company's total return was minus 21% during that period.

Dominion's stock suffered during the performance period as investors lost confidence in the utility's management team, according to analysts. But Dominion made several moves to lessen its debt burden, such as selling its stake in the Cove Point liquefied natural gas plant to Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N for about $3.3 billion in after-tax proceeds.

Dominion's electricity sales are expected to surge over the next decade as more energy-hungry data centers are built in the company's key Virginia territory.

Still, Blue received no long-term performance pay related to Dominion's cumulative operating profit target for 2022-2024. With a performance weighting of 40%, operating profit per share was $8.87, well below the minimum threshold target of $11.70 per share, Dominion said.

Meanwhile, Dominion's renewable energy generating capacity exceeded a minimum target despite fewer solar projects moving forward during the performance period than anticipated. With a 10% weighting, that metric allowed Blue to receive 9% of the total target cash payout across the three goals.