In connection with the completion of the first phase of the 345-kV Spearville to Axtell transmission line, also known as the Kansas Electric Transmission Authority (KETA) project, ITC Holdings (NYSE:ITC) will distribute bonuses to “substantially all” of the company’s employees, including its executives.
The board of directors’ compensation committee approved the bonuses on Aug. 13.
“In order to maintain a priority focus on our development efforts, the ITC board of directors approved discretionary bonus payments to employees associated with the phased construction and commission of the project,” an ITC spokesperson told TransmissionHub on Aug. 20.
Final bonus amounts will be determined immediately prior to their distribution by dividing the discretionary bonus pool proportionately among the recipients based upon their respective shares of the 2013 annual corporate performance bonus pool, the company said in an Aug. 16 Form 8-K.
Executives’ final bonus amounts will be disclosed in ITC’s 2014 annual meeting proxy statement, though the company estimated that CEO Joseph Welch would receive $108,008; Chief Business Officer Linda Blair would receive $51,896; CFO Cameron Bready would receive $49,964; COO Jon Jipping would receive $42,413; and General Counsel Daniel Oginsky would receive $33,807.
The 227-mile line runs from Spearville, Kan., to Axtell, Neb. The KETA project, which was built in three phases, entered service ahead of schedule and under budget, according to TransmissionHub data.
ITC subsidiary ITC Great Plains was responsible for the first two phases and the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) was responsible for the third phase. ITC built the Kansas portion of the project in conjunction with Sunflower Electric Power and Midwest Energy.
Phase I of the KETA project, from Spearville, Kan., to the Post Knoll substation, near Hays, Kan., entered service in June 2012. The second phase of the project, from Post Rock to the Kansas/Nebraska border, entered service in early December 2012, as did NPPD’s portion of the project, or the third phase, which runs from the Nebraska border to Axtell, Neb.
ITC on Aug. 14 declared a dividend of 42.5 cents per share, payable on Sept. 16, to shareholders of record on Sept. 3.
The company also on Aug. 14 issued $285m of its 4.625% Series E First Mortgage Bonds due Aug. 15, 2043.
