Virginia energy CEO raked in massive ESG bonuses amid scrutiny over overcharging, PAC donation

A Virginia-based energy company gave its CEO over $3 million in bonuses in part for meeting ESG goals as company stock plummeted, it faced accusations it overcharged customers by $1 billion, and it accidentally gave $200,000 to a super PAC attacking Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin.

Dominion Energy, headquartered in Richmond, is among companies that doled significant sums to its CEO for ESG achievements, according to a Barron's report.

ESG is a scoring system that rates corporations based on considerations including companies' environmental, social, and governance policies.

ESG investments have been in the crosshairs of conservatives who say ESG has largely forces companies to bend toward "woke capitalism" and Democratic-led climate agenda initiatives that cost companies, and ultimately consumers.

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Conversely, some left-leaning groups have criticized companies’ use of ESG investments as simply lip service without making substantive changes.

Last month, Barron’s highlighted a growing trend in corporations to incentivize CEOs to help companies achieve ESG goals, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

"Over 60% of S&P 500 companies included ESG measures in executive pay last year, up from 19% in 2019, according to proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis. Utilities and fossil fuel companies — facing some of the steepest risks to revenue as the world moves to cleaner energy — are most likely to include ESG factors in pay, followed by consumer-facing brands and financial institutions," the publication said. 

"Dominion CEO Robert Blue received nearly $7 million in compensation in 2021, including a $1.75 million bonus partially thanks to meeting ESG goals," the outlet added. "The company was rated above-average among peers by MSCI’s ESG ratings unit, partly due to its effort in water management."

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"As part of its executive incentive plan in 2021, the company set a goal for 95% of employees to participate in a town hall about sustainability initiatives," the outlet wrote. 

Barron’s cited Rosanna Landis Weaver, a program manager at shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, who claims that companies will sometimes set ESG bonus targets for "dealing with low-hanging fruit." "Everybody should be having these town halls, this isn’t what we should be paying extra for," she told the Barron’s.

In September 2021, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), an environmental watchdog, claimed to Virginia’s State Corporation Commission that Dominion overcharged customers by $1.2 billion since 2015.

"Because Dominion is a monopoly, no competition exists to drive its prices down. Virginian households average the sixth highest electric bills in the country," SELC said in a press release. 

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Also in 2021, Blue said Dominion accidentally gave $200,000 to a political action committee that ran campaign ads against now Gov. Glenn Younkin, then asked for it back.

The Associated Press reported at the time that Blue told the employees in an internal email that the company "didn’t properly vet an anti-Glenn Younkin PAC before giving it large donations."

This March, Dominion Energy released its 2022 proxy statement, which indicated that Blue earned a bonus of approximately $1.6 million, partially due to meeting ESG goals. Last year, Dominion stock price plummeted by roughly 30%.

Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, criticized Blue’s ESG bonuses as "egregious."

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"It’s egregious that Dominion would award millions in ESG bonuses to CEO Robert Blue when an objective analysis of his performance shows consistent failure," Hild said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

"But this is ESG in its purest form - ignore failure to customers and prioritize woke virtue signaling that does nothing for them," he added. 

A spokesperson for Dominion Energy noted that as of July 1, Dominion electric rates in Virginia "will be more than 20% below the national average."

"At Dominion Energy, we are proud to safely provide reliable and affordable energy to 7 million customers in the states we serve. In those states, our rates are set by regulatory commissions," the spokesperson said.

 "At our Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May, 91% of our shareholders who voted their proxies approved the compensation for our named executive officers, including Mr. Blue," the spokesperson added.