VVelarionINTELLIGENCE
Sign inStart free trial
Start free trial
Utilities

California Water Service Group Executive Compensation (FY25)

CWT · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2025
Chief executive, fiscal 2025
◇
Martin Kropelnicki
Latest say-on-pay support
=
May 20, 2026
Velarion Member: every covered company in Utilities, with dashboards, peer screens and board-ready briefs. Three seats, one year.

The California Water Service Group brief, $500

Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.
Both reports for $900.
Get the executive briefGet the board briefNo account needed.
Data as of October 27, 2026Latest filing (8-K): May 21, 2026
10 filings cited on this page
A report that fails to generate is refunded in full
Published by Velarion Company Intelligence
California Water Service Group brief$500Get the executive brief
Velarion Intel, one year, every company
285 figures on this page: 278 cited to the filing that reported them, 7 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations
What changed from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025
The figures that moved, and by how much. Analysis of these figures is part of the Velarion platform.
Chief executive total compensation — Martin Kropelnicki: $4,803,389 → $6,875,256 (43.1% higher)
Say-on-pay support: 67.5% → 94.9% (27.4 points higher)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is California Water Service Group's chief executive and what were they paid?
Martin Kropelnicki, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, received $6,875,256 in total compensation for fiscal 2025. Kropelnicki's total moved 43.1% higher from the $4,803,389 reported for fiscal 2024.
What was California Water Service Group's say-on-pay result?
For fiscal 2025, shareholders backed the say-on-pay proposal with 94.9% of votes cast for or against in favor at the meeting held May 20, 2026.
Which companies are in California Water Service Group's peer group?
The disclosed peer group includes Allete, Inc., American States Water Company, Avista Corporation, Black Hills Corp. and Chesapeake Utilities Corp., among others.

Executive compensation

Every element reported for each named executive officer, by fiscal year.
Fiscal 2022
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Martin Kropelnicki
Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Paul Townsley
President, TWSC, Inc.
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Thomas Smegal
Former Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Michael Luu
Senior Vice President, Corporate Services & Chief Risk Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Martin Kropelnicki
Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Paul Townsley
President, TWSC, Inc.
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Michael Luu
Senior Vice President, Corporate Services & Chief Risk Officer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Ronald Webb
Vice President, Chief Human Resource Officer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Shawn Bunting
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Business Development
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Thomas Smegal
Former Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
David Healey
Former Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
◇———◇◇◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Martin Kropelnicki
Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
James Lynch
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Shawn Bunting
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Business Development
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Michael Luu
Senior Vice President, Corporate Services & Chief Risk Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Shannon Dean
Senior Vice President, Customer Service & Chief Sustainability Officer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
David Healey
Former Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—————◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Martin Kropelnicki
Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
James Lynch
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Shannon Dean
Senior Vice President, Customer Service & Chief Sustainability Officer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Michael Luu
Senior Vice President, Corporate Services & Chief Risk Officer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Shawn Bunting
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Business Development
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. A negative change in pension value is shown but, as the company reports it, not included in the total.

Equity awards granted

Individual awards as disclosed: type, date, unit counts at each level, and grant date value.
Fiscal 2025
OfficerAwardGrant dateThreshold unitsTarget unitsUnits grantedMaximum unitsExercise priceGrant date fair value
James P. LynchPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
James P. LynchRSU◇——◇——◇
Martin A. KropelnickiPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Martin A. KropelnickiRSU◇——◇——◇
Michael B. LuuRSU◇——◇——◇
Michael B. LuuPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Shannon C. DeanPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Shannon C. DeanRSU◇——◇——◇
Shawn C. BuntingPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Shawn C. BuntingRSU◇——◇——◇
Fiscal 2023, 2024 are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. Threshold, target and maximum apply only to performance awards and are never shown for time-based or option awards.

Outstanding awards

Awards still held at fiscal year end.
As disclosed at fiscal 2025 year end
OfficerAwardUnvested unitsMarket value of unvested unitsExercise priceExpires
Martin KropelnickiPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Shannon DeanPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Shawn BuntingPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Michael LuuPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
James LynchPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2025
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Scott L. Morris
Lead independent director
◇◇————◇
Gregory E. Aliff
◇◇————◇
Thomas M. Krummel, M.D
◇◇————◇
Patricia K. Wagner
◇◇————◇
Lester A. Snow
◇◇————◇
Shelly M. Esque
◇◇————◇
Yvonne A. Maldonado, M.D
◇◇————◇
Charles R. Patton
Board chair
◇◇————◇
Jeffrey Kightlinger
◇◇————◇
Carol M. Pottenger
◇◇————◇
Martin A. Kropelnicki served on the board in fiscal 2025 and received no compensation for board service. Executive directors are typically paid through their executive roles, shown above.
Earlier years are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director fee schedule

The standing retainers and premiums the board pays, as published.
Board cash retainer◇
Board equity retainer◇
Total board retainer◇
Lead independent director premium◇
Audit committee chair◇
Compensation committee chair◇
Nominating and governance chair◇
Equity is delivered as Rsas.

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2025
  • Allete, Inc. ALE
  • American States Water Company AWR
  • Avista Corporation AVA
  • Black Hills Corp. BKH
  • Chesapeake Utilities Corp. CPK
  • Essential Utilities, Inc. WTRG
  • H2O America HTO
  • IDACORP, Inc. IDA
  • MGE Energy, Inc. MGEE
  • Northwest Natural Holding Company NWN
  • Northwestern Energy Group, Inc. NWE
  • Otter Tail Corporation OTTR
  • TXNM Energy, Inc TXNM
  • Unitil Corporation UTL
2026 performance peer group (supplemental)
  • pure-play water utility peers symbol not shown

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2025May 20, 2026=◇◇◇
2024May 28, 2025=◇◇◇
2023May 29, 2024=◇◇◇
2022May 31, 2023=◇◇◇
2021May 25, 2022=◇◇◇
2020May 26, 2021=◇◇◇
2019May 27, 2020=◇◇◇

Ask our research desk — $99, 24h, every figure cited to its filing.

Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”
- Martin Kropelnicki (Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer), FY2025 total compensation $6,875,256 (base salary $1,080,688) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001104659-26-040708, filed 2026-04-08]

See a complete sample report

Answered within 24 hours, every figure cited to its SEC filing. This is a one-off report: no refunds.

Email me this page as a cited PDF — sent in 2 minutes
The same figures, the same citations, formatted to hand to a committee. Nothing is added that is not on this page.
Your address is used for this and nothing else. Unsubscribe in one click.
Tell me when California Water Service Group files
You get a note when this company’s compensation data changes.
Your address is used for this and nothing else. Unsubscribe in one click.

What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact California Water Service Group disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where California Water Service Group sits against its disclosed peers — percentile position by role and by pay element, and the ranking behind it. The disclosed peer group is free; comparisons across it are part of the Velarion platform.
Executive Compensation Report — $500
Written compensation analysis
A read of the pay program as designed and as paid: incentive structure, goal rigor, the alignment between the committee's stated philosophy and what the numbers show.
Executive Compensation Report — $500
Board and governance analysis
Committee composition, independence, director pay positioning, and the governance provisions read together rather than listed.
Board Governance Report — $500
Realizable pay
What the awards above are actually worth today against what they were valued at on grant, and what the gap says about the pay-for-performance link.
Velarion Intelligence
Adviser switching and vote outcomes
Two datasets covering compensation-adviser changes and what followed a contested vote. Both are part of the Velarion platform.
Inquire about access
Multiple companies at once
Cross-company views, cohort screens, and data export across the industries we cover. This page is one company; the platform is all of them.
Velarion Intelligence
Join the list for Peer Group Review
Whether California Water Service Group's disclosed peer group is defensible, who names California Water Service Group back in their own benchmarking group, and how pay tracks performance across it. This is the analysis a compensation consultant delivers on the group above. We will email you when it opens.
Your address is used for this and nothing else. Unsubscribe in one click.

Citations

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
285 figures on this page: 278 cited to the filing that reported them, 7 calculated from figures it prints.
278 cited to the filing
7 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0001104659-26-065135
    Item 5.07. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  2. 0001104659-26-040708
    Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended 2025 · Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year Ended 2025 · Summary Compensation Table
  3. 0001104659-25-054291
    Item 5.07. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  4. 0001104659-25-035518
    Summary Compensation Table
  5. 0001104659-24-067322
    Item 5.07. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  6. 0001104659-24-048344
  7. 0001104659-23-067079
    Item 5.07. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  8. 0001104659-22-065414
    Item 5.07. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  9. 0001104659-21-073368
    Item 5.07. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  10. 0001104659-20-066551
    Item 5.07. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
Cite this data
This page is free to cite. Attribution we ask for:
Velarion, “California Water Service Group executive compensation, FY2022–FY2025.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/CWT (accessed 2026).
Short form: data: Velarion

The California Water Service Group brief, $500

Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.
Both reports for $900.
Get the executive briefGet the board briefNo account needed.
10 filings cited on this page
Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology
A report that fails to generate is refunded in full
Published by Velarion Company Intelligence
Embed this data
A small, cited view of this data for your own page or newsletter. Every embed carries a visible link back here, so the attribution travels with it.
The headline figures, each with its citation.
Connect an AI assistant
Ask your own assistant about California Water Service Group and roughly 3,000 other US public companies, and get back the same figures on this page with the same citations. Free read access, no account. Add this to your assistant's connector settings.
Setup guide and the full list of questions it answers

Utilities rankings

Chief executive pay — UtilitiesCEO pay ratio — UtilitiesSay-on-pay support — Utilities

Peers California Water Service Group discloses

The companies named in CWT's own disclosed peer group.

Allete, Inc.American States Water CompanyAvista CorporationBlack Hills Corp.Chesapeake Utilities Corp.Essential Utilities, Inc.H2O AmericaIDACORP, Inc.MGE Energy, Inc.Northwest Natural Holding CompanyNorthwestern Energy Group, Inc.Otter Tail CorporationTXNM Energy, IncUnitil Corporation

Terms on this page

Say-on-Pay VoteCEO Pay RatioMedian Employee CompensationAll companies

Free to read and cite. Redistribution or bulk use of the dataset requires a data license. Talk to us about the data license.

Cite this data
APA
Velarion Company Intelligence. (2026). Velarion database: executive and board compensation data (Version 2026Q3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854
BibTeX
@misc{velarionData2026,
  author = {{Velarion Company Intelligence}},
  title = {Velarion database: executive and board compensation data},
  year = {2026},
  version = {2026Q3},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.22283854},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854}
}
For informational purposes only. Not investment, legal, or compensation advice.  All companies · The Pay Desk · Methodology · Terms · Privacy