Nine largest American utilities by market cap made $14B in profit in 2022

Submitted by Azr431 t3_1043cbj in newhampshire

Summary: In late 2022, home heating prices were “skyrocketing yet again,” 18% higher on top of the previous winter’s 17% price spike, even as already-struggling Americans continued to face persistent inflation. As colder weather approached, one in six U.S. homes—about 20 million households—were behind an average of nearly $790 on their utility bills while experts warned of “‘a tsunami of shutoffs.’”

Eversource is one of the nine in the report from Accountable.us

-In The First Nine Months Of Its FY 2022, Eversource Had Earnings Of $1.085 Billion—19% More Than Its Earnings Of $913.8 Billion In The First Nine Months Of Its FY 2021

-In The First Nine Months Of Its FY 2022, Eversource’s Shareholder Dividends Increased By 7% To $643.5 Million.

-In 2021, Eversource Energy’s CEO Saw His Total Compensation Soar By 28% To Over $6.4 Million

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FreezingRobot t1_j32lesj wrote

Oh boy! Can't wait for corporate greed to get discussed for a few months in the primaries later this year, only for something else to get mysteriously pushed to the forefront of the national conversation so nothing gets done!

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ImprintVector t1_j32xo97 wrote

I read this in towlie’s voice from South Park and it was beautiful

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notsurethisisfunny t1_j33nxuw wrote

You can trust us when it comes to being your only source of energy though. Hahah

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SkiingAway t1_j338thc wrote

> The top nine of these companies—whose fiscal calendars line up with the regular calendar—have seen their net incomes rise a total of nearly $250 million to over $13.8 billion in 2022’s first three quarters

So profits are up <2% this year? That's less than inflation. Doesn't seem like they're reaping any special profits this year. Sounds a lot like they're...not really the reason prices are skyrocketing.

I'm not saying they're great, altruistic firms, but they're largely not really responsible for your bills increasing either.

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Azr431 OP t1_j33ew10 wrote

CPI is not directly linked to profit margins.

>I'm not saying they're great, altruistic firms, but they're largely not really responsible for your bills increasing either.

Considering Eversource sets the prices we pay, I would say they are responsible for the rates we pay. Before you reply with "but they're just passing on the rates they're paying", reread the three bullet points I noted.

This is why we need not-for-profit public or publicly-owned utilities. Neo-liberal deregulation is a sham to enrich the capitalist class and extract from the working class.

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SkiingAway t1_j33kxoj wrote

> CPI is not directly linked to profit margins.

Percentages? No. Nominal dollar values of those profits? Yes, it pretty much is.

> "but they're just passing on the rates they're paying"

Yes, that's accurate, at least for the part of your bill that's seen a huge hike.

> reread the three bullet points I noted.

I've read them, I just don't think they're a very definitive representation.

For example, the difference in earnings between Q3 '22 and Q3 '21 appears not to be anything to do with actually increased earnings, it's just that they had $63m in fines in Q3 '21 that they didn't have in Q3 '22, revenues were almost the same.

Beyond that, the company has drastically changed size over the past few years. A far larger company should probably make more money.

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Azr431 OP t1_j33nqmn wrote

It's obvious we won't see eye to eye on this, so I'll reframe a simple question for you.

Do you think it's ok for an electricity provider that's supplying a basic need to pay $644M of dividends to shareholders with our money for three quarters in 2022 and give their CEO a 28% raise in one year?

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SkiingAway t1_j33rkzp wrote

I think there's two questions:

  • Are for-profit utilities a good thing - Probably not, especially as many currently function. At minimum, they need tighter regulation or better market design/structure.

  • Are the things you're holding up as examples a significant part of the increase in your utility costs this year - Nope.

The latter is basically my objection to your framing.

> need to pay $644M of dividends to shareholders with our money for three quarters in 2022

Their dividend last year was $0.6025/share, this year it's $0.6325/share. I'll also note that dividend payments are a big part of the market appeal of a utility company - they're not and can't be high growth businesses. They're supposed to pay out a modest, steady profit to shareholders.

> give their CEO a 28% raise in one year?

It's not particularly clear to me that the CEO got a 28% raise. This indicates the previous guy made $19.8m in 2019. So has this guy received a 28% raise from last year or a 70% pay cut from the last guy?

Realistically, the answer is probably neither given how much of their pay is tied to stock grants/stock market performance, but it's why I find these kinds of metrics - especially on a year to year basis, dumb arguments.

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Azr431 OP t1_j33ug5z wrote

>Are the things you're holding up as examples a significant part of the increase in your utility costs this year - Nope.

I never claimed the reason for the huge price increases in 2022 was because of the large dividends, CEO pay increase, etc. You formed that narrative on your own.

>Are for-profit utilities a good thing - Probably not, especially as many currently function. At minimum, they need tighter regulation or better market design/structure.

I guess a capitalist and a socialist can agree on something!

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Lords_of_Lands t1_j3agx1u wrote

Depends, what are the usage patterns? Did usage go up 19% too?

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underratedride t1_j34pbtf wrote

Keep voting for politicians and this is what you’ll get. Clean house and MAYBE you’ll get real change.

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TreePointOhhhhh t1_j32visi wrote

Well, I for one am grateful that we have the Bidens. Hunter is an energy guru, sitting on multiple international energy boards, and I’m confident that he helped his dad formulate a safe and effective energy plan. I know it works, and I’m thankful, because things could have been much worse.

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