Pay for top 9 PSEG Long Island executives in 2025 jumps 10%, bonuses rise 22%

Bonus pay for the top nine PSEG Long Island executives jumped a cumulative 22.6% last year to just over $1.36 million, while “other” pay, which included housing and car allowances, increased 14.7%, according to a Newsday review of figures filed with the state.

In all, according to the review, those officials received $6.3 million in total compensation last year, compared with $5.7 million in 2024, a 10% jump. The $1.36 million in 2025 bonuses compared with $1.11 million 2024, with some of the officials receiving double-digit and triple digit increases for the year. The review excludes an executive who retired in 2024 with a total pay of $709,142, who did not appear on the 2025 list. 

Among those receiving the biggest bonus increase was Seong Chung, vice president of business development, who saw her bonus increase to $158,200 from $73,800, or 114%; Curt Dahl, vice president of power markets, whose bonus increased to $158,200 from $94,400, or 67%, and Christopher Hahn, vice president of external affairs and lobbyist, whose bonus increased to $147,300 from $95,800 in 2024, or 53.7%.

PSEG spokeswoman Katy Tatzel, in a statement, said, "Executive compensation is largely paid out of the management fee and is competitive with other large utility employers." 

PSEG's compensation disclosures, required by law, came weeks after the company released a 202 5 reliability report that showed its performance on two key measures of cu stomer outages have worsened or remained essentially  flat over the past five years.

One -- called the system average interruption frequency index -- worsened from 0.679 in 2021 to 0.759 in 2025, while the average duration of outages stayed about the same -- 80.5 minutes in 2021 to 82 minutes in 2025, after two years of improvement in between. The indexes exclude the impact of major storms. A third metric, momentary interruptions per customer, improved to 1.13 last year compared with 1.146 the year before.

Tatzel's written statement said the company is "proud to be the #1 overhead electric service provider in New York State in reliability and customer satisfaction and the top 10% in reliability in the nation."

In terms of executive pay, those who saw increases in the “other” pay category included Hahn, who received $166,609 in other pay in 2025, compared with $83,844 in 2024; Dahl, who received $161,301 in other pay in 2025, compared with $65,400 in 2024, and Dave Lyons, for former interim chief operating officer, who received $287,581 in other pay in 2025, compared with $279,091 in 2024.

Lyons, who was replaced in January by PSEG veteran Scott Jennings in the permanent COO/president role, took home a total of $861,191 in compensation in 2025, compared with $837,133 in 2024, a 2.8% increase. The second highest paid PSEG official was Mike Sullivan, vice president for electric operations, whose compensation was $772,397 last year, compared with $749,317 in 2024. Sullivan’s bonus jumped 9.7% to $139,300 last year from $129,300 in the prior year.

Margaret Keane, who briefly served as interim chief operating officer, saw her total compensation increase to $736,926 last year, up from $690,898. Total pay includes savings plans, life insurance premiums and changes in the value of pension benefits. Keane, who now serves as strategic advisor to PSEG Long Island, last year received $158,200 in bonus pay, compared with $144,200 in the prior year, a 9.7% jump.

Another top earner was Louis Debrino, vice president of customer operations, who saw the value of his total pay package jump to $619,965 last year from $603,079 in the prior year, a 2.7% increase.

All but Lyons have the title of managing director. 

The pay packages for 2025 also come amid revelations of aggressive bill-collection tactics by PSEG that have launched a state investigation by the state Public Service Commission into the topic for the 11 top utilities in the state.

The PSEG total pay packages generally outweigh those of top officials at LIPA, which owns the electric grid and has a five-year contract extension with PSEG valued at $493 million to manage it. LIPA's top earner last year was Werner Schweiger, with a salary of $416,157.71, followed by Carrie Meek Gallagher, whose base pay is $363,250. Schweiger's position has since been eliminated. LIPA’s finance chief, Donna Mongiardo, was the second-highest paid executive at the authority last year, with a base salary of $386,250, according to state figures. Her actual pay came to $394,183.

-- With Arielle Martinez 

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.