Anthony Haines, CEO of Tony’s Hydro (formerly Toronto Hydro), received another vote of confidence from the utility’s Board of Directors and City Council, the utility’s owners. Haines received a boost in his compensation in 2012, according to the utility’s Annual Information Form posted to SEDAR this morning.

Although his direct pay over the year fell short of the magic one million dollars mark — coming in at $935,501 in 2012, an $83,518 or 9.8% increase over 2011 — his compensation also included several other pay commitment categories, including another new pay category introduced in 2012.

Haines is entitled of post-retirement medical, dental, and life insurance benefits. As agreed by the Board of Directors in 2011, during 2012 Haines was entitled to a $50,000 special one-time retirement allowance had he retired or been fired. That retirement allowance rises to $140,000 in 2013 and ramps up each year of service after that to a ceiling of $1 million. Also in the 2011 deal, Haines is entitled to extended disability and death benefits. In addition, as of December 31, 2012, the bonus Haines is entitled to in the event that he is fired rose to $1,718,780. His firing bonus includes extended group health and dental benefit coverage. In addition, in 2012 the Board of Directors agreed to a second one-time retirement allowance that starts at $100,000 in 2014 and ramps up to ceiling of $1,650,000. This second package also comes equipped with disability and death benefits.

The comparator companies used by the Board of Directors, chaired by Clare Copeland, for compensation guidance did not include a single urban electricity distribution utility. Instead, the comparator group is heavily weighted to power generation companies which are exposed for far higher levels of investment and operational risk than Tony’s Hydro.

The Board of Directors continued its longstanding practice for setting easy targets for corporate performance. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the utility entered 2012 with a regulatory request seeking $590 million in capital spending in 2012, the Board of Directors set a target for capital spending for the purposes of calculating management bonuses on the basis of $240 million. The Board of Directors further signaled its support for blackouts by relaxing the already relaxed standards for delivery service reliability.

Post script April 2 9:10 pm: The Toronto Star finally covered Haines’ pay. The story does not address the firing bonuses built into Haines’ contract. Here is the link.