Calpine Gave Finance Chief $1-Million Bonus Last Year

Calpine Corp., which owns or operates power plants in 23 states, paid Chief Financial Officer Robert Kelly a $1-million bonus last year for exemplary leadership and work in obtaining financing.

Kelly, 45, was the only Calpine executive to receive a bonus in 2002, according to the company’s proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His salary rose to $470,000 from $425,769 a year earlier.

Calpine paid Chief Executive Peter Cartwright $1 million in salary last year, up from $994,462 a year earlier, the filing said. He also received options for 682,884 shares, up from 97,702 in 2001.

Shares of San Jose-based Calpine have fallen by two-thirds in the last year. The stock rose 9 cents to $4.09 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.