Enmax VP's $1.1M bonus not out of line, Nenshi says

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi says executive compensation at city-owned Enmax is under control despite one of its senior executives banking a $1.1-million bonus.

The payment to vice president Dave Rehn was made for the successful completion last year of the Shepard power plant the biggest of its kind in Alberta.

The new natural-gas poweredplant in east Calgary is capable of generating more than 800 megawatts of electricity for the provincial grid.

Nenshi says while the bonus paid to Rehn was eye-opening to him, he's not convinced it was out of line.

"It was also part of an eight-year contract on a $1.4-billion project that was delivered on-time and on-budget," he said.

"No one at the City of Calgary gets bonuses like that. But there is a reason that Enmax has to compete against other utilities in the private sector and certainly I'm not telling you that when I was first elected we didn't see the worst excesses of the private sector at Enmax."

In 2010 CBC News revealed thatthe former CEO of Enmax made more than $2.7 million dollars. Last year, three top executives at the utility took home more than $2 million.

Coun. Peter Demong, who sits on Enmax's board, says the mega-bonus would nothave been paid unless the Shepard power plant was completed on-time and without cost over-runs.

"In order to compete with the Atco's, with the other competitive sides of this, you have to be able to bring in incentives to draw the type of people that will get the results that are required."

Demong says he doesn't disagree with a bonus system adding nothing really motivatesbetter than dollars if you want to ensure a project stays on track.

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