Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for an investigation into the hefty bonuses that a group of Con Ed executives collected for their work during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
He ordered Con Ed to freeze the bonuses this morning, according to a statement from his office.
The governor sent a letter to Con Ed’s CEO on Monday demanding that Public Service Commission review the bonuses and ensure that the cost of paying out the bonuses is not passed onto customers.
Cuomo also noted the poor performance of utility companies after the storm, saying it was a “complete failure.”
Four Con Ed executives split $614,400 in bonus pay last year for the challenges they handled following the storm. After the letter was sent, Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke announced that he would return his $315,400 bonus, the New York Post reported. Burke stood by his company, however, and said he continues to commend the work of all his employees.
The three other executives did not say if they would return their bonuses as of Monday night.
More than a million customers lost power due to the storm, and many city residents did not have power restored for several days. Some customers in other areas of the state did not have power return for more than a week.
