Emera CEO Chris Huskilson got hefty raise in final year as boss
The executives who run Nova Scotia Power's parent company saw hefty raises in 2017, according to compensation data released by the company Friday.
Emera CEO Chris Huskilson saw his compensation jump 15 per cent from $5 million to $5.76 million in his last full year as boss.
The soft-spoken engineer from Shelburne, N.S., who started with Nova Scotia Power 38 years ago, has led the transformation of Emera during his 14 years at the helm.
Company successes
Emera doubled in size with its purchase of Teco Energy in Tampa, Fla.
It also built the Maritime Link — on time and on budget — to bring Muskrat Falls electricity into Nova Scotia from Labrador.
Compensation for other Emera executives
Scott Balfour, the chief operating officer who will succeed Huskilson at the end of the month, saw his compensation go from $2.19 million to $2.62 million in 2017, an increase of 20 per cent.
No executive from Nova Scotia Power made Emera's list of top five earners disclosed in information to shareholders.
The remaining top earners are:
- Emera US Holdings CEO Rob Bennett earned $2.1 million, which was an increase of four per cent from his 2016 compensation of $2 million.
- Tampa Electric CEO Nancy Tower brought in $1.92 million, an 18 per cent increase over her previous year's compensation of $1.63 million.
- Greg Blunden, Emera's chief financial officer, earned $1.5 million, a jump of 42 per cent from his 2016 compensation of $1.06 million.
The figures released Friday are for total compensation. That includes base salary, bonuses and other share-based incentives.
In its discussion of Huskilson's compensation, the company praised Emera's solid performance in 2017, noting it raised its dividend by eight per cent in 2017.
The top-earning Nova Scotia Power official was president and CEO Karen Hutt, who earned $694,568 in compensation. Ratepayers picked up $234,289 of that compensation.
Correction : CEO Chris Huskilson's compensation jumped 15% to $5.76 million in his last full year as Emera head. An earlier headline on this story wrongly said that was a 25% increase. (Mar 16, 2018 2:18 PM)
