He makes $3.6 million a year to be the President and CEO of ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, but a move to boost the salary to $6.4 million for Pablo Vegas was thwarted this week during a meeting of ERCOT’s board of directors and the Public Utility Commission.
The Texas Tribune reported that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stepped in with public criticism of the salary hike and said on social media that he told the chairs of both agencies to “immediately reverse their action” and that they complied.
“During a time of increasing utility costs, this is not the time to give the CEO of ERCOT a multi-million-dollar pay raise on the backs of ratepayers,” Patrick said.
Patrick’s post came after The Texas Tribune published an earlier version of this story about the contract approval. A PUC spokesperson confirmed the vote to grant Vegas the new contract but did not mention any reversed decisions.
Vegas said the boards of directors did not vote Tuesday to rescind their approval of the contract but decided not to sign it. He said he did not know when Patrick called ERCOT board chair Bill Flores and PUC chair Thomas Gleason.
Vegas’ pay would be $4 million in 2026, if performance targets are met, according to a document shared by ERCOT Tuesday.
Vegas said late Tuesday that concern over the increase in his pay stems from a misunderstanding over the way his contract is structured and that the board presentation was “confusing to anyone who looked at it.” He said that confusion stemmed from a bonus that is earned compensation, not paid compensation.
According to the Texas Tribune, ERCOT operates as a nonprofit and is funded mostly by an administration fee of $0.61 per megawatt-hour, which is paid directly by retail electric providers and municipal utilities and typically passed on to their customers. ERCOT reduced its administration fee from $0.63 per MWh at the start of the year.
Vegas’ 2024 pay in ERCOT’s most recent 990 form filed in late 2025 was $3.6 million.
