by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As Appearing in the California Globe
The U.S. average retail price per kilowatthour is 12.68 cents; California’s price per kilowatt hour is 27.04 cents
Sacramento Municipal Utility District CEO and General Manager Paul Lau is paid $936,617 in total wages, and $45,374 in retirement and health benefits, totaling $981,991 annually. Lau is paid nearly $1 million annually to manage 2,400 employees, and revenue of $2 billion.
El Dorado County Auditor-Controller Joe Harn brought this to the attention of the Globe because he’s “concerned that if situations like this continue, it will further erode the public support in our public employee retirement system and continue to erode the financial health of our public employees retirement system.”
According to his bio, Lau is a 41-year SMUD veteran, and has held several other executive leadership positions, including Assistant General Manager of Power Supply & Grid Operations and Assistant General Manager of Customer, Distribution & Technology, starting with a SMUD internship in 1982.
“As CEO, he leads the sixth largest community-owned electric utility in the nation, serving a population of 1.5 million residents and managing a $2.1 billion budget.”
