San Diego Community Power will pay its former chief executive $421,000 under the terms of a separation agreement reached last month.
Karin Burns, the CEO who was hired four years ago, will also receive health insurance and contributions to the pension plan, which will be capped at $60,000, according to records obtained by inewsource under the Public Records Act.
Last week the agency announced that Burns had “concluded her tenure” there. She had been on administrative leave since June 18 for reasons the agency has never disclosed.
While Burns will no longer be CEO, the announcement last week said she will now be an “Executive Adviser,” a job that has not previously existed in the organization. Her role there is to “ensure a smooth leadership transition,” the release said. The new job ends on Jan. 15.
The $433,000 represents 10 months of pay and will be paid out in a lump sum, the agreement says. The deal also requires the agency to pay $12,500 in legal fees incurred by Burns.
More details of those duties were spelled out in an email from Veera Tyagi, the general counsel for San Diego Community Power, to Burns on Sept. 24.
Tyagi said Burns will work fully remotely and only communicate with the organization through her. Her duties are described as providing “executive-level guidance, organizational insight and leadership expertise” to the top officials at the agency.
Tyagi went on to say the adviser role “carries no authority to direct employees, approve expenditures, bind Community Power, execute contracts, make employment decisions, or represent Community Power” unless authorized to do so in advance.
The separation agreement does not say why Burns was placed on leave and later moved out of the top position. It says only both sides don’t agree on the “circumstances and nature” of her departure.
It also says that Burns, through her lawyer Michael Conger, has alleged she has legal claims against Community Power relating to her employment. The agreement also says that Burns will waive all future claims against the agency.
It is unclear why Burns will get 10 months of pay and why her employment ends Jan. 15. San Diego Community Power Senior Director of Public Affairs Jen Lebron said she could not comment on the reasons for the timelines.
Burns was hired in April 2022 to head the organization. During her time it grew to become the second-largest community choice aggregator – an organization that lets cities and counties obtain energy for their residents instead of using the local, investor-owned utility.
Since Burns went on leave June 18, the agency has been led by acting CEO Jack Clark.
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