florida power and light scandal
Header Image Credit: YouTube, 10 Tampa Bay. Alabama Power still hasnt had a rate case. Consultants who control Grow United billed FPL for over $3 million before the entity started moving funds around for the election scheme. This legislation allowed for Kelly to be replaced with a former utility lobbyist, Richard Gentry. Ron DeSantis, approved FPLs rate hike, raising Floridians monthly bills by over $1.5 billion in the next few years with annual increases through 2025, while increasing FPLs profits. An analyst at Seaport Global, a capital-markets firm, said recent reporting on FPL has "made us reassess FPL's risks" and that the research firm has "grown uncomfortable" with the "growing media scrutiny of FPLs lobbying practices against distributed solar and retail choice (deregulation), among others. Matrix grew so large that by 2015 it was operating several private aircraft to whisk Pitts and Perkins to client meetings. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License by Energy and Policy Institute. Following up right after Ketchum's comments, Silagy said that his predecessors had held their roles for about a decade each, and that gearing up for another multi-year rate case with state regulators would mean he would have to stay until 2026. To work around the independent, traditional media, former Matrix employees took a more direct route to influence the public narrative about Florida Power & Light. These email records were provided to the Times/Herald and Floodlight by the Energy & Policy Institute, a watchdog organization that works to counter misinformation about renewable energy. That month, FPL announced a planned purchase ofGulf Power, expanding its reach for the first time into the Florida Panhandle, and in the process snatching away a lucrative asset from regional rival Southern Company, which had owned Gulf since 1925. The negative is the immense amount of megawatts, but its a need for the community. In May 2018, FPL's sprawling. Switching from oil or coal to natural gas is a very important step, but thats not enough, she said, adding that carbon capture, utilization and storage technology must be considerationsto further reduce emissions. Three people were federally convicted for their role in the ploy. Landlords would be able to sell cheap rooftop solar power directly to their tenants bypassing FPL and its monopoly on electricity. ", FPL lauds its reliability and maintains it has the lowest electricity rates in the country. The company conducted an internal investigation and "found no evidence of any issues at all, any illegality or any wrongdoing on the part of FPL or any of its employees. And in 2020, Matrix even harnessed the power of the press for itself, when its employees acquired control of The Capitolist, a Tallahassee-based political news site which it used for favorable coverage, leaked records show. Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy announced his retirement on Wednesday. Currently, 5,779,202 consumers receive their electricity from the company. Earlier this year, current PSC members, appointed by Gov. You always have to keep in mind what matters most is the rate (of efficiency).. The solar industry disagrees, pointing to research that shows rooftop solar penetration is low enough in most states that the effects of distributed solar on retail electricity prices will likely remain negligible for the foreseeable future.. small-scale solar capacity in the state. NPR and Floodlight reported the same consulting firm did work in Alabama for that state's dominant energy utility, Alabama Power, and funneled money to news sites there that reported negatively on the utility's critics and regulators. I think they are doing their part. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images Thats not where the story ends, however, or the whole picture. Florida Power & Light denied any wrongdoing related to political campaigns. The plan ultimately failed, and Stoddard was re-elected. Reporting, primarily by the Orlando Sentinel, showed spoiler candidates in three state Senate races in 2020 were propped up by at least a half-million dollars from dark-money groups in an effort to help damage the Democrats in those races and help Republicans control the chamber. TALLAHASSEE Recent revelations about Florida Power & Light's involvement in a dark money scheme to siphon votes away from Senate Democratic candidates prompted its parent company to conduct. Silagy is to be replaced by Armando Pimentel, a former senior executive at NextEra Energy. Hours later, a story like the one the executive pitched appeared on The Capitolist. 2023 www.jacksonville.com. Another factor is promoting energy efficiency at the consumer level, Shober said. Landlords would be able to sell cheap rooftop solar power directly to their tenants. Hannah Morse covers consumer issues for The Palm Beach Post. Soon, Dunn faced attacks in the rightwing press and online, while Matrix-affiliated groups some of which received millions from a non-profit run by a contractor for Alabama Power filed a motion to intervene in the proceedings. The commission held a workshop, which drew 16,000 messages from solar advocates urging it to leave the net metering program alone. Butone thing the leaked Matrix records make clear isthat more secrets remain on the firm's hard drive. That statement was made before additional rounds of damaging disclosures prompted the investigation by the outside law firm. Florida Power & Light has also invested millions into groups with untraceable, anonymous donors that launched attacks on state and local politicians. ", "We've heard (FPL parent company NextEra's) management assurances about internal investigations," the analyst,Angie Storozynski, wrote, but "any legal, political or regulatory inquiry into FPLs conduct would be highly damaging to the stock.". McClure conceded the bill is not baked.. NeitherFPL executives nor the consultants identified in the secret records have been accused of wrongdoing in that investigation. TALLAHASSEE Rooftop solar power generation in Florida is still a nascent industry, but Florida Power & Light, the nations largest power company, is pushing to hamstring it by writing and hand-delivering legislation the company asked state lawmakers to introduce, according to records obtained by the Miami Herald and Floodlight. In comparison, the top carbon-emitting plant on the list is a coal-powered one in Missouri that produced 16.5 million megawatt hours of energy but emitted almost 1,009 kilograms of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour less energy, but more emissions. He is suing Pitts in Alabama for fraud and conspiracy. For years, Florida Power & Light has been one of the largest contributors to legislative Florida political campaigns. After more than a decade leading Florida Power & Light (FPL), the state's largest power company, Eric Silagy is retiring. FPL has a long history of spending to campaign against Crist, spending up to $1 million against Crists bid for governor in 2006 after contributing $225,000 to Crists opponent in the Republican primary the largest donation FPL had ever made at the time. Nate Monroe is a metro columnist whose work regularly appears every Thursday and Sunday. Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy announced his retirement on Wednesday. I just wanted to check in and see if you had any follow up information or language in regards to the net metering bill you discussed with Senator Bradley., Holley replied eight minutes later: I do. At least its not coal., The intent of the report was to highlight coal and the negative of coal and offer information that may be pertinent to those who live near the plants, Hope said. Over the course of DeSantis tenure, he used that veto power once to block an anti-rooftop solar bill written by FPL. When the small south Florida citys mayor helped pass an ordinance in 2017 mandating rooftop solar panels on new construction, a network of 10 FPL-aligned operatives mobilized to ensure his ouster. If were trying to look all in, theres a whole lot to consider upstream from just the burning of the fuel., FPLs McGrath said the Find Energyreport also doesnt tell the companys whole modernization story.. Such a turn in the political tidecould be particularly dire for a regulated company like FPL, whose literal fortunes rise and fall on the decisions made by the Public Service Commission appointees of the governor who must sign off on any number of high-stakes operational and financial issues for Florida's private utilities, starting with electric rates. In all races, the Republican won the election. Matrixs influence was felt on matters small and large, from Stoddards city of less than 12,000 to statewide fights over the Florida constitution. As a result of the current system, my constituents are being forced to subsidize the decisions of neighbors in other counties who are in a position to be able to put these expensive systems on their homes, Bradley said. Developing a green hydrogen plant on the site of the former Indiantown coal plant. Companies do not pass legislation. Once we realize the large emitters are large emitters because theyre providing service of great magnitude, and we look at it and we see its so efficient, we have our answer, Patino-Echeverri said. Florida Power & Light, one of the largest utilities in the country, abruptly announced the retirement of its chief executive after a tenure marked by strong financial returns, moves toward greener energy and multiple scandals. Silagy, who has been with the company for 20 years, has led FPL since 2011, having risen through the ranks by serving as chief development officer and senior vice president of regulatory and state governmental affairs. A note of gratitude to our friends at the Orlando Sentinel and Floodlight News, with whom we have worked in partnership to report our stories. The records also demonstrate that secrecy is no substitute for sophistication or savvy: Some of Matrix's tricks did little to improve FPL's business prospects and, in fact, have now served to humiliate the utility like Silagy's use of a pseudonym email account belonging to a fictitious "Theodore Hayes" to communicate with Matrix employees (a tactic detailed in the leaked Matrix records that both FPL and Silagy himself confirmed took place). A dark money non-profit called "Grow United" is at the center of the scandal, with records showing direct communication with and invoices to FPL. Perkins called Matrixs work for the utility confidential. More:FPL seeks to raise monthly power bills for residental customers by 10%. Under Floridas current arrangement, homes and businesses that generate less than 2 megawatts of solar power can sell the excess back to their utility in exchange for a bill credit of 11 cents per kWh. They work off intimidating. Going through those tens of thousands ofrecords, he said, alerted him to the extent of work Pitts performed without his knowledge. In Florida, FPL and Matrix demonstrated how a utility and its consultants can work in tandem to resist clean energy reforms. According to reporting by the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Power & Light executives have been tied to a series of dark-money nonprofits, one of which figures prominently in the Miami-Dade state attorneys investigation into a scandal involving a ghost Senate candidate. In the Southeast, power company money flows to news sites that attack their critics, She was an ABC News producer. At the same time, getting to 100% elimination of greenhouse gas emissions for the energy sector is very hard to do with just renewables. The job was to be with a shell nonprofit created by Matrix employees that supported marijuana decriminalization and, on its face, had no connection to FPL. The firm later recovered more than a million files, according to Perkins, who said they reveal years of hidden, shadow work in Florida. The company says the move was not prompted by recent scandals. These customers are a mix of 88.48% residential customer accounts, 11.29% commercial customers and 0.22% industrial properties. Letsgetstarted. Matrix also exerted political influence through the press, with its operatives acquiring control of a Tallahassee-based politics news site, The Capitolist. I feel rooftop solar is beneficial to the environment, and Floridians. Bradley said she is open to discussing alternative models for her bill, including a system in use in the Carolinas to compensate rooftop solar customers who provide extra power for the grid when it is most needed, during peak hours. FPL has already passed the $5.1 million total amount it spent in the 2020 cycle. Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy was directly involved in steering funds to dark-money groups led by the consultants who controlled Grow United, the organization used to promote the ghost candidates, according to documents obtained by the Sentinel. With Gulf Power in hand, FPL would serve more than 12 million customers more than half the population of the third largest state in the country. "We're not making a connection," said John Ketchum, CEO of NextEra Energy. For many years and without my knowledge or approval, Pitts abused his power and position to benefit himself and his cronies, Perkins said in a statement. I find this to be horrifying and undemocratic, said Gianna Trocino Bonner, former chief legislative aide for Rodrguez, after reviewing some of the leaked documents. FPL has acknowledged it received the idea but insists the company immediately rejected it. Reporting by the Orlando Sentinel and the Miami Herald tied Silagy to a group of political consultants who had spent millions of dollars to secretly further the power company's political goals. FPL CEO Eric Silagy (left) speaks with Gov. Note: This story has been updated to correctly reflect Pimentel's prior roles. I am concerned that it will result in significant costs here, but I also dont want to destroy the rooftop solar industry in Florida.. Early in the evening of Nov. 26, 2019, the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, a political consultant working for utility giant Florida Power & Light sent a pair of confidential documents to an email . An organization that acts like a mafia should be treated like one, Stoddard said.In a statement, Newman acknowledged managing the campaign against Stoddard and hiring a private investigator to look into the former mayors personal life. Energy poles by Florida Power and Light from Turkey Point nuclear generating station in Miami, Florida. Flight data shows Matrixs planes made more than 130 flights to five states in 2020 alone, frequently crisscrossing the south-eastern US but also traveling as far west as New Mexico. nears the finish line on new track at Freedom Field, Amazon's Daisy Jones & the Six Is the Latest in a Long Line of Embarrassing Portraits of Musical Genius. The charity was a front established by a state representative. Duke has 2 million customers, followed by TECO with 800,000 . Skeptics of that plan notably included the Office of Public Counsel, thewatchdog group that represents consumers before the Public Service Commission butwas thought to have been more friendly to utility interests after the installation of a longtime industry lobbyist in 2021. View dataset here. The state senator went on to lose re-election by six votes. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. We're making smart, long-term investments to stabilize energy costs, lower carbon emissions, and make Florida energy independent. Under the leadership of Eric Silagy, 54, the company has been tied to allegations of campaign finance violations, media manipulation, and the surveillance of critical journalists. The company provided The Palm Beach Post with 2019 data on emissions and energy production at power plants, including its own, which was in line with the source of the 2020 data used by Find Energy. They proposed offering a job to Garrett Dennis, a member of the Jacksonville City Council who had been outspoken against selling JEA. Hundreds of pages of internal documents which are only coming to light now because Matrixs founders are locked in an epic feud detail the firms secret work to help power companies like FPL protect their profits and fight the transition to cleaner forms of energy. (Neither Alabama Power nor its corporate parent, Southern Company, have commented on those disclosures.). "It's a 24-hour day job. We'll get them back on Check the FPL Power Tracker for updates on any outages in your area or report one to us. Solar is beneficial to the extent of work Pitts performed without his knowledge FPL seeks to raise Power!, with its operatives acquiring control of a Tallahassee-based politics news site, the Republican won the.... For fraud and conspiracy, Southern company, have commented on those disclosures )... 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