LoginDid compensation for the CEO of Wisconsinβs largest utility company triple in five years to $12 million?
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No.
The 2025 total compensation of WEC Energy Group CEO Scott Lauber was $12 million.
Thatβs down from the $18 million paid in 2020 to WECβs then-CEO, Kevin Fletcher.
WEC, the largest Wisconsin-based utility company, is the parent company of We Energies and other electric and gas utilities in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, one Democrat running for governor, said utility βCEO payβ had increased from $4 million to $12 million. His campaign said Barnes was referring to Lauber.
Lauberβs total compensation was $4 million in 2020. But he was senior executive vice president, not CEO.
Nationally, the average total compensation for utility CEOs in 2025 wasΒ $12 million, up 47% since 2017. The top earner was the CEO of Ohio-based American Electric Power, at $36 million. That $12 million, as a median, was the lowest among all industry sectors.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Energy Policy Institute: Utility Executive Compensation
- Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance: CEO Pay Study
- AFL-CIO: Executive Pay Watch
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: WEC Energy Group 2021 proxy statement
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: WEC Energy Group 2026 proxy statement
- WEC Energy Group: About us
Did compensation for the CEO of Wisconsinβs largest utility company triple in five years to $12 million? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
