Sue Kelly: MID employees have skills that don’t come cheap

Re “One reason for high power bill: Generous pay for MID workers” (Front page, July 16): Comparing average electric utility salaries to average city hall or county government salaries is an apples-to-oranges proposition. Electric utility personnel are highly skilled, and must be compensated based on the local market for similar positions.

MID – like the more than 2,000 other community-owned, not-for-profit public power utilities in the U.S. – is challenged with providing competitive salaries and benefits that attract and retain top-notch talent. Too often, public power utilities invest in hiring and developing employees only to have them poached by neighboring for-profit utilities that typically provide better pay. I would urge The Bee to look at compensation packages for MID’s neighboring investor-owned electric utilities to get a better sense of the market.

Public power utilities are only as strong as the people they employ. And the adage that “you get what you pay for” certainly applies. In the long run, better pay helps retain the skills and experience required to keep the lights on.

This story was originally published August 1, 2017 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Sue Kelly: MID employees have skills that don’t come cheap."