WAPA Executive Director Salary

I wonder if they tied any goals or objectives to that 40% raise?
Why 40%? Has anyone else in the VI gotten a 40% raise?

Act 6905 from 2006 gave some big ol' raises, including an 87.5% raise for the governor.
http://cruciansinfocus.com/2007/10/15/summary-of-act-6905/

I guess now the director of WAPA can afford his light bill.

Good one, LuckyGirl56!!

Worth every penny I'm sure(td)

it's appalling that Hodge's salary is $210,000 per year when "the median salary for a CEO of a utility with 40,000 to 100,000 customers is $170,655," If the VI government has tens of thousands of extra taxpayer dollars to spend it should pay down its massive WAPA debt.

$210,000/year on his new 5 and 1/2 year contract plus other incentives that were not mentioned. More or likely he has a company vehicle, doesn't have to pay for travel or his water & electric bill. This man will be basically pocketing 210k yearly! How can they afford to pay him so much but can't even keep the lights on when a little rain comes. This is crazy. Guess it pays off to have a strong last name in the islands.

What sort of message does this send to the guys working on the lines for xx.xx an hour. Crikey mate - this excessive expenditure is crazy in these days of economic uncertainty and near fiscal crisis! I'm stunned.

http://www.psc.gov.vi/ VI Public Services Commission

VI Water and power Authority http://www.viwapa.vi

It is probably futile but at least we can leave an opinion on the contact of these sites.

http://www.governordejongh.com/

Also it wouldn't be a bad thing to let the Governor know that this is loco'

vigem - The article does mention that WAPA provides him with a personal vehicle in addition to his salary.

I wonder if they tied any goals or objectives to that 40% raise?
Why 40%? Has anyone else in the VI gotten a 40% raise?

Heck yeah, what's the matter with all of you?
We all got a MUCH bigger raise than 40%!
I think our raise in WAPA rates is MUCH higher than 40%!

If you ask me, Hodge isn't qualified to over the repairs of a wheel borrow!

I wrote the Governor, not that it will matter. They steal and we take it.

Sean

I wouldn't want the job at twice Mr. Hodges salary -- who would??

isnt the vi government borrowing a lot of money just to stay afloat. how can they say this is good business

After all of the kickbacks Hodge probably barely clears a $100K.

I see that because of WAPA generator failure that STT and STJ is without water again. If they had given him a 50% raise maybe this would not have happened.

it's appalling that Hodge's salary is $210,000 per year when "the median salary for a CEO of a utility with 40,000 to 100,000 customers is $170,655," If the VI government has tens of thousands of extra taxpayer dollars to spend it should pay down its massive WAPA debt.

Given the climate, geography, need for hurricane preparedness & response, and the enormous energy issues facing the islands, I don't think we can equate WAPA to a small stateside power company.

I just don't see what all the fuss is about. Mr. Hodge has turned WAPA around and created one of the most reliable, lowest priced utilities in the free world. Just compare our cost per KWH with...uh...er...hmmm...nevermind. Let's talk about reliability then. The power almost never goes out here. Well...hmmm...OK, .maybe that's a wee bit of an overstatement but just look at yesterday for example. We had torrential downpours all day long and the power never went out. Well...OK...it was more of a soft steady rain but everybody knows that rain and electricity don't mix. And, well, the power actually did go out once yesterday but like I said, it was raining! And the power has only gone out once today and it's still raining. Well... OK... actually the rain stopped some time ago but the ground is still damp! If some of the electric utilities that eek us out on reliability had to cope with some of the things that we have to cope with - like rain - then their records wouldn't be so stellar either.

When WAPA hires consultants, they never pay unreasonable fees, always get feeback from the public before entering into contracts, and always seek green solutions. Take Alpine for example - burning our trash to create electricity...cool! Well... OK... burning pet coke may be a little less than environmentally friendly but we're only gonna burn it in emergencies for heaven's sake!

When WAPA gave away one energy saving light bulb per household a coupla years ago, they led the way by switching over all the bulbs in the power plants to power saving bulbs. Well... OK... they didn't actually replaced the bulbs but they considered doing it and that's gotta count for something!

We haven't had a rate increase in years! Well...OK...the LEAC has been adjusted a few times but that's not really a rate increase, is it?

I say "hats off" to Mr. Hodge on a fine job and congratulations on a well-earned raise!

it's appalling that Hodge's salary is $210,000 per year when "the median salary for a CEO of a utility with 40,000 to 100,000 customers is $170,655," If the VI government has tens of thousands of extra taxpayer dollars to spend it should pay down its massive WAPA debt.

Given the climate, geography, need for hurricane preparedness & response, and the enormous energy issues facing the islands, I don't think we can equate WAPA to a small stateside power company.

Plenty of places in the U.S. have hurricanes or other severe climatic conditions, geographic challenges, an impoverished customer base, etc., and approximately half of the CEOs of utilities there get paid less than average. Thinking about our particular challenges, formulating a plan of attack, enlisting support for that plan, etc. are part of every utility CEO's job description, not a valid argument for higher than average pay. The vast majority of WAPA employees are paid less than the industry average, and there is nothing special about Hodge's employment experience that makes him worth more than average (he graduated from a STT HS in 1987, and his last job was with a small GA utility.)

Let me get this straight. We have an outdated power system, the power goes out about 10 times the national average, WAPA is doing everything it can to stop alternate fuels and there has been very little reinvestment on the current plant. DA!

It just goes to show us how much of a bunch of saps we are in the eyes of the government. 210,000 (with a car no less) is a sin and there is no way ANYONE can support this amount. I was thinking about 100000 would be a great salary (without a car). The government is about 5 times too big. And now EVERYONE at WAPA will GET more money. After all it worked for Hodge! Why not!

We should go to the federal government and out up some windmills and dump Hodge and WAPA.

I am discusted, again.

billd

it's appalling that Hodge's salary is $210,000 per year when "the median salary for a CEO of a utility with 40,000 to 100,000 customers is $170,655," If the VI government has tens of thousands of extra taxpayer dollars to spend it should pay down its massive WAPA debt.

Given the climate, geography, need for hurricane preparedness & response, and the enormous energy issues facing the islands, I don't think we can equate WAPA to a small stateside power company.

Plenty of places in the U.S. have hurricanes or other severe climatic conditions, geographic challenges, an impoverished customer base, etc., and approximately half of the CEOs of utilities there get paid less than average. Thinking about our particular challenges, formulating a plan of attack, enlisting support for that plan, etc. are part of every utility CEO's job description, not a valid argument for higher than average pay. The vast majority of WAPA employees are paid less than the industry average, and there is nothing special about Hodge's employment experience that makes him worth more than average (he graduated from a STT HS in 1987, and his last job was with a small GA utility.)

I'm not defending him, his record, or the salary. But it takes plenty of CEOs above $170,000 to make that the median, thus, Hodges salary (deserved or not) it not out of range.

And while there are many utilities in difficult circumstances, running a rural utility in coal country, or anywhere on the mainland where you have a competitive workforce, has got to be a walk in the park compared to what is facing Hodge.

I also wonder how much of the salary is a cost-of-living differential for living here, compared to just about anywhere else on the mainland. 20% ?

He will need that much more than the median of other CEO's, after all he will have to pay his WAPA bill, since it is even higher than the 40% over median.
Of course if he is that sharp, he has probably already gone off grid.

I'm not defending him, his record, or the salary. But it takes plenty of CEOs above $170,000 to make that the median, thus, Hodges salary (deserved or not) it not out of range.

And while there are many utilities in difficult circumstances, running a rural utility in coal country, or anywhere on the mainland where you have a competitive workforce, has got to be a walk in the park compared to what is facing Hodge.

I also wonder how much of the salary is a cost-of-living differential for living here, compared to just about anywhere else on the mainland. 20% ?

I expect the CEOs who earn above average are being rewarded for their successes, not pandered to by friends who did the hiring. Hodge doesn't bring any education or experience to the job that make him worth higher than average pay, and there is no defensible reason to pay him a cost-of-living differential when every other WAPA employee earns below average compensation.

I never begrudge a man for getting as much as his bosses will pay him.

If he can get Wapa turned around, paying him twice again as much would be worth it.