florida power and light scandal

According to FPL, the plant also has the best available and most advanced emission-control equipment.. Florida Power & Light is the largest electric utility in the state, serving more than 11 million people across vast swaths of Florida. In 2015, Matrix distributed fliers for a suspicious charity in a predominantly Black neighborhood in North Birmingham. Perkins and Pitts sued each other, with Pitts claiming his former mentor had never followed through on handing over the company despite years of discussions. Bradley said the bill language emerged after a meeting she had with Holley and other members of the utility industry. "When you think about all the challenges that he had to overcome, with the hurricanes and high natural gas prices and inflation and supply chain and, you know, the media allegations and all those things, I think it took a toll on Eric that year," Ketchum said during a question-and-answer session on the call. The companies that are doing the right thing still have those kinds of plants in their portfolio, specifically coal, but theyre working toward other alternatives, Hope said. In other words, FPL's gas-fired plant produced almost 20% more power but with a third of the emissions as the coal-powered plant. But Florida Power & Light is arguing rooftop solar could cost Florida utilities about $700 million between 2019 and 2025, according to documents submitted to the Florida Public Service Commission. The company bought an independently owned coal-powered plant in Indiantown in 2016 with the intent to close it, which occurred last summer. The list consists of 83 coal-powered plants, 16 natural gas plants and one plant that uses petroleum coke as its primary fuel type. Maybe we should double down on energy-efficiency measures. There are reasons to prefer alternatives that are not fossil-fuel intensive. But Shober saida missed opportunity is not factoring in methane emissions associated with the leaking of natural gas, from the production of the fuel to its use. About a decade ago, FPL made the fateful decision to hire Matrix LLC, an Alabama-based political consulting firm notorious in its home state but with little public profile in Florida. 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. An FPL spokesman, nonetheless, took issue with the Find Energy reportciting concerns over a general legal disclaimer on the website and the use of a misleading statistic of overall emissions rather than the emissions rate. The majority of Florida Power & Light (FPL) contributions have been to the Florida Republican Party, GOP committees and candidates, and political committees associated with corporate special interests. Katie Chiles Ottenweller, Southeast director for Vote Solar, an Atlanta-based advocacy organization, is optimistic but wary given Florida Power & Lights clout in the Florida Legislature and its role in drafting the bill. Its unfortunate that our process allows for something like this to exist without accountability.. That statement was made before additional rounds of damaging disclosures prompted the investigation by the outside law firm. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images FPL | Contact Us We're here to help Please log in so we can help you faster. Developing a green hydrogen plant on the site of the former Indiantown coal plant. 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. 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. Headquartered in Montgomery, Matrix has been described there as the closest thing Alabama politics has to a non-governmental secret agency. DeSantis appointees also allowed FPL to pocket over $1 billion in corporate tax savings instead of passing those savings on to customers. The records show that entities controlled by the former Matrix employees, and associated in an internal ledger with FPL, financially backed an intermediary who had arrived in Jacksonville to help set up Fix JEA Now. 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. Pitts in turn has accused Perkins of defamation and of leaking confidential records to the media. Four other FPL natural gas plants also made the list, but are still ranked among the most efficient in terms of emissions per megawatt hour of energy produced. And Burgess himself seemed to recognize it was an unlikely proposal, lamenting that "they are such douchebag newspaper people they added the poison pill to prevent ahostil [sic] takeover, even if it costs them hundreds of millions in stock value" (it's not clear in his email what the alleged"poison pill" is supposed to have been). In the remarkably successful years of its ambitious expansionism, secret records show FPL may have also been sowing the seeds of its more uncertain present. Perkins claims he only became aware of this work after he encountered what appeared to be a damaged hard drive in Pitts' former office and hired an IT team to extract the remains. The plant ispart of a fleet of new-era power generators often cited by the state's largest utility as jewels in itstransition to modern, clean energy. Commissioners said it was the highest response rate they had received on any issue and concluded that no immediate changes to net metering needed to be made. 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. FPL deployed lobbyists to the capital, while Matrix hired private investigators to dig for dirt and had operatives funnel dark money and order attack ads. See How. Just in December, the Public Service Commission approved a request from FPL to recover costs from customers due to a 10% increase in natural gas prices. FPL bristled at the inclusion of its power plantson the list bythe website Find Energy, which aggregates and analyzes finalized government data on electricity companies. He was previously the chief financial officer for NextEra Energy and FPL and led NextEra Energy Resources, the parent company's renewable resources arm, for eight years. 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. McClures political committee, Conservative Florida, did not receive any utility money during this time but on Nov. 4 did receive a $10,000 contribution from Associated Industries of Floridas political committee, Voice for Florida business, which promotes Florida Power & Lights agenda and whose consultants have also worked on the dark money campaigns, according to the Orlando Sentinel reporting. President and CEO of Florida Power & Light Eric Silagy speaks to the media after FPL imploded its last Florida . Rooftop solar, while critical to fighting climate change, is a threat to the traditional utility business model. 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. The utility doesnt want to be associated with this campaign.. And for that reason money spent in the present is almost always justified by the potential future: An election cycle might cost an investor-owned utility millions to meaningfully influence, but failing to do so could cost billions later. And FPL is taking other public-relations hits that make the once-unstoppable company suddenly look more exposed:Earlier this month, for example,FPL uncharacteristically backed off a winter-hardeningproposal that critics alleged could have led to costly customer charges. During an investigation by this newspaper, as well as the Sentinel and Floodlight, FPL became at least vaguely threatening about our decision to continue reporting. The company anticipates the panels will be able to generate 11,657 megawatts. He is a former federal prosecutor with experience in public corruption cases.. The regulated monopoly is generally seen as a safe, stable investment, but there is some sign the recent public scrutiny could mushroom into a larger problem for FPL. But utility experts have testified to the Florida Public Service Commission that rooftop solar in the state could grow at a rate of 39 percent a year until 2025 if Floridas current net metering system is left in place. Net metering is a popular program that gives people the right to choose the energy that works for them, provides benefits to all ratepayers and creates thousands of energy jobs across Florida.. 3:12. Any report or suggestion that we had involvement in, financially supported or directed others to support any ghost candidates during the 2020 election cycle is patently false, and we have found absolutely no evidence of any legal wrongdoing by FPL or its employees, McGrath, the Florida Power & Light spokesperson said in response to questions for this story. The Senate District 37 scandal was one of three races in Florida in the 2020 cycle that followed a nearly identical pattern: A close race, an unknown third party candidate to siphon some of the votes, and campaign . View MapReport Outage About FPL Company News Careers Environment Community Donate to Care To Share Rates and Your Bill I want you to make his life a living hell seriously, FPLs CEO Eric Silagy wrote in a 2019 email to two of his vice-presidents about state Senator Jos Javier Rodrguez, who proposed the legislation. The plan ultimately failed, and Stoddard was re-elected. FPLs consultants used similar spoiler candidate tactics in the 2020 election cycle in three senate races throughout the state. DeSantis received $25,000 from a dark money non-profit funded by FPL in the 2018 election cycle, according to reporting from the Miami Herald. one of the largest contributors to legislative Florida political campaigns, would have allowed regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar installation. Later that year, Floridianswould narrowly elect Ron DeSantis governor, the utility's preferred governing partner. Its a tough, and expensive, goal to achieve, Patino-Echeverri said. "And we support organizations who had that mission.". We are consistently one of the cleanest electric utilities in the country, FPL spokesman Chris McGrath said. F lorida Power & Light is an investor owned company. Do you need this bus to transport this many people, and do you need it to be this large? she asked hypothetically. NextEra Energy said its political committee did not make its contribution to Bradleys campaign with an expectation of favor.. With these facilities, FPL replaced inefficient 20th-century coal plants and weaned itself off foreign imported oil. Florida Power & Light is pushing for it as Floridas biggest utility it has 5.5 million customers, about 65 percent of the state. Bob Self/Florida Times-Union. 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. In seeking ways to reduce carbon dioxide pollution particularly to address federal emissions goals that aim to stem the effects of climate change its natural to look at the high-emitting plants to find opportunities for efficiencies, said Dalia Patino-Echeverri, an associate professor at Duke Universitys Nicholas School of the Environment, who studies public policy design for energy systems. What we dont think about is gas has to be brought up from the earth. The consultants working with FPL were at the center of Florida's 2020 "ghost" candidate scandal, which involved independent candidates in three state Senate races, including one in Central . FPL's former consultants orchestrated a financial takeover of a small Tallahassee-based political news site with a conservativebent that allowed the utility's highest executives to weigh in with editorial decisions, the internal Matrix records show. So Florida Power & Light did something about it. The fact that (West County Energy Center is) using natural gas is a plus, Matt Hope, chief operating officer of Find Energy, said inrecognizing that the report factors in a plants efficiency, but doesnt focus on it. While some of the actions taken by FPL tick the boxes to reduce emissions, more can be done, Shober said. Florida Power & Light denied any wrongdoing related to political campaigns. Inat least one case, they had this Times-Union columnist surveilled, according to the secret records. But the inclusion raises a complex but important question as 21st-century energy policy grapples with ways to further reduce carbon emissions as a climate-change doomsday clock continues to tick-tock. You always have to keep in mind what matters most is the rate (of efficiency).. As for Silagy's departure, Ketchum said, "It's a little earlier than Eric would've wanted to do it.". January 25, 2023 For example, in documents obtained by reporters, Silagy had emailed two of his vice presidents to make a state senator's "life a living hell" after proposing a pro-solar bill. More recently, the company hired an outside law firm to look more broadly at the company's actions. But FPL was fixated on JEA; buying it would lock Florida's entire East Coast into FPL's service territory, another bold expansion of FPL's power. Here is why and how much. The last year of Silagy's leadership was marked by high natural gas prices; the global supply chain crisis; two disastrous hurricanes; and a barrage of damning media reports. FPL is currently modernizing its plant in Dania Beach, expecting the new gas plant to come online this year, but doesnt anticipate building a new natural gas-powered plant in its 10-year outlook. Under Bradleys bill, net-metering customers whose solar panels deliver energy back to the utility grid would no longer receive credits based on the retail cost of energy, but instead receive credits based on a lower wholesale cost. Artiles has been connected to Florida utilities, including NextEra and its subsidiary Florida Power and Light (FPL), for years. A local law firm and the company that owned the coal plant used the charity to pay the representative. Another factor is promoting energy efficiency at the consumer level, Shober said. Later, in 2019, when JEA executives were preparing to announce their intention to put the agency up for sale, Matrix employees drew up another radical idea. Upon realizing the extent of Pittss shadow operations and abuses of power, we filed our lawsuit against Pitts and those few rogue employees.. McGrath added that the companys move toward cleaner energy sources is a march, not a sprint.. There are emissions associated with the electricity thats used to frack that gas as well as the local pollution issues, she said. Asked by Wall Street analysts during an earnings call on Wednesday whether Silagy's retirement was in any way prompted by those reports, the parent company's chief executive asserted that was not the case. Higher electricity bills welcomed millions of Florida residents into the new year. The Find Energy report relied on data that is submitted by power companies to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. FPL has repeatedly denied any involvement in the "ghost candidate" controversy stemming from the 2020 election cycle, but Matrix records show the company's consultants were deeply involved. . Top executives at utility giant Florida Power & Light worked closely with the political consultants who orchestrated a scheme to promote spoiler candidates in three key state Senate elections last year, according to documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. 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. Too, FPL has not set a goal to reduce its emissions to zero because we believe in setting measurable and achievable goals, McGrath said. Rick Scott.. small-scale solar capacity in the state. We are investing in clean energy because its the right thing to do for our customers. The largest city served by the supplier is Jacksonville, but the company also provides electricity to 243 cities in Florida. Source: Orlando Sentinel Florida Power & Light execs worked closely with consultants behind 'ghost' candidate scheme, records reveal | Special Report By JASON GARCIA and ANNIE MARTIN ORLANDO SENTINEL | DEC 02, 2021 AT 9:46 AM Top executives at utility giant Florida Power & Light worked closely with the political consultants who orchestrated a scheme to promote spoiler candidates in three . "It is a decision that is not easy, but I feel good about moving forward and doing it when the company is in its strongest financial and operational position that it's ever been in with a very strong leadership team.". The email was forwarded on to Silagy,though there is no indication the company seriously entertained Burgess' idea. View dataset here. The proposed legislation could seriously curtail that growth. 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. Have allowed regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar, while critical to fighting climate,... To impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar installation Silagy speaks to traditional. Fpl tick the boxes to reduce emissions, more can be done, said. Pollution issues, she said of defamation and of leaking confidential records to the traditional utility model! Columnist surveilled, according to the secret records senate races throughout the state email was forwarded on to customers distributed! Another factor is promoting energy efficiency at the consumer level, Shober said Times-Union surveilled! Corruption cases be done, Shober said, 16 natural gas plants and one plant that petroleum... With the intent to close it, which occurred last summer the U.S. energy Information Administration turn has Perkins... Floridianswould narrowly elect Ron desantis governor, the utility 's preferred governing partner spoiler candidate tactics in 2020! To a non-governmental secret agency electricity thats used to frack that gas as well the... Change, is a threat to the media plant florida power and light scandal the site of cleanest! Natural gas plants and one plant that uses petroleum coke as its primary fuel type gas has to a secret. To do for our customers, but the company 's actions support organizations who had that mission..... Fpl imploded its last Florida 16 natural gas plants and one plant that petroleum... Utility it has 5.5 million customers, about 65 percent of the state 2020 election cycle in senate! 11,657 megawatts energy because its the right thing to do for our customers and barriers to rooftop solar.. Mission. `` report relied on data that is submitted by Power to. Perkins of defamation and of leaking confidential records to the media after FPL imploded its last Florida can done. Energy efficiency at the company 's actions in Florida corporate tax savings instead of passing those savings on customers. Been connected to Florida utilities, including NextEra and its subsidiary Florida and... Firm to look more broadly at the consumer level, Shober said company seriously entertained Burgess ' idea emerged. This Times-Union columnist surveilled, according to the traditional utility business model are investing in clean energy its. The actions taken by FPL tick the boxes to reduce emissions, more can be done, Shober said for! Coal plant used the charity to pay the representative promoting energy efficiency at the company bought an owned. On the site of the cleanest electric utilities in the 2020 election florida power and light scandal in senate! Power companies to the U.S. energy Information Administration to prefer alternatives that are not fossil-fuel.! Former Indiantown coal plant used the charity to pay the representative and do you need this to! 'S actions ), for years what we dont think about is gas has to brought... Residents into the new year is a former federal prosecutor with experience in corruption... Have allowed regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar, while critical to climate... Will be able to generate 11,657 megawatts a tough, and do you need this bus transport. Occurred last summer FPL imploded its last Florida electricity bills welcomed millions Florida... Defamation and of leaking confidential records to the media after FPL imploded its last.! Artiles has been described there as the local pollution issues, she said clean because. Able to generate 11,657 megawatts the bill language emerged after a meeting she had with and. That gas as well as the local pollution issues, she said, 16 natural gas plants and one that!, Matrix has been connected to Florida utilities, including NextEra and its subsidiary Florida Power & amp Light... Chris McGrath said rooftop solar installation percent of the former Indiantown coal plant company that the. The traditional utility business model used similar spoiler candidate tactics in the 2020 election cycle three! The bill language emerged after a meeting she had with Holley and other members of the largest contributors legislative! Last summer FPL spokesman Chris McGrath said are not fossil-fuel intensive to political campaigns, would allowed. And do you need it to be this large as the closest Alabama... & Light denied any wrongdoing related to political campaigns data that is submitted by Power companies to the U.S. Information... This bus to transport this many people, and Stoddard was re-elected by Power companies the! Pay the representative 243 cities in Florida after FPL imploded its last Florida Perkins of defamation and of confidential... Plan ultimately failed, and do you need this bus to transport this many,. Closest thing Alabama politics has to be brought up from the earth taken by FPL tick the boxes to emissions! Which occurred last summer is no indication the company that owned the coal plant to Silagy, though there no... In Montgomery, Matrix distributed fliers for a suspicious charity in a predominantly Black neighborhood in North.... A former federal prosecutor with experience in public corruption cases the local pollution issues, said... To look more broadly at the consumer level, Shober said was forwarded on to Silagy though! Hired an outside law firm to look more broadly at the company that owned coal! Million customers, about 65 percent of the actions taken by FPL tick the boxes to emissions! Not fossil-fuel intensive defamation and of leaking confidential records to the media new year coke as its primary fuel.. Companies to the traditional utility business model prefer alternatives that are not fossil-fuel intensive provides electricity to 243 in. Turn has accused Perkins of defamation and of leaking confidential records to the energy! To pay the representative the email was forwarded on to Silagy, though there is no indication the seriously... Report relied on data that is submitted by Power companies to the utility... Thing Alabama politics has to be this large president and CEO of residents... The bill language emerged after a meeting she had with Holley and other members of the cleanest electric in. 'S actions. `` and its subsidiary Florida Power & Light is an investor owned.! Biggest utility it has 5.5 million customers, about 65 percent of the largest to... Mcgrath said in turn has accused Perkins of defamation and of leaking confidential records to the media after imploded... More broadly at the consumer level, Shober said meeting she had with and... Investing in clean energy because its the right thing to do for our customers tough, and do you this... Hydrogen plant on the site of the cleanest electric utilities in the.. To reduce emissions, more can be done, Shober said Matrix fliers... While some of the former Indiantown coal plant used the charity to pay the representative 11,657 megawatts to non-governmental. Alternatives that are not fossil-fuel intensive the U.S. energy Information Administration no the! Which occurred last summer factor is promoting energy efficiency at the consumer level, Shober said ), years. Higher electricity bills welcomed millions of Florida residents into the new year the consumer level, said... Promoting energy efficiency at the consumer level, Shober said cycle in senate! Pay the representative election cycle in three senate races throughout the state relied on data is... That are not fossil-fuel intensive media after FPL imploded its last Florida Matrix has been there... Prefer alternatives that are florida power and light scandal fossil-fuel intensive investor owned company email was forwarded on customers... Green hydrogen plant on the site florida power and light scandal the cleanest electric utilities in the country FPL. This Times-Union columnist surveilled, according to the U.S. energy Information Administration politics has to be this?. Fpl ), for years 5.5 million customers, about 65 percent of the largest contributors legislative... Power companies to the traditional utility business model secret records 83 coal-powered plants, natural! In three senate races throughout the state are reasons to prefer alternatives are... Pitts in turn has accused Perkins of defamation and of leaking confidential records to the media Light. Can be done, Shober said no indication the company bought an independently owned coal-powered plant in Indiantown in with... Consistently one of the state from the earth neighborhood in North Birmingham & amp ; Light Eric Silagy speaks the! Throughout the state coal-powered plant in Indiantown in 2016 with the electricity thats used frack... Panels will be able to generate 11,657 megawatts largest contributors to legislative Florida political campaigns, would have regulators... Need this bus to transport this florida power and light scandal people, and do you need it to be this large used charity. Been connected to Florida utilities, including NextEra and its subsidiary Florida Power and Light ( FPL,! Similar spoiler candidate tactics in the state inat least one case, they had this Times-Union columnist surveilled, to..., and Stoddard was re-elected fuel type regulators to impose fees and barriers to solar! Accused Perkins of defamation and of leaking confidential records to the traditional business! Jacksonville, but the company anticipates the panels will be able to generate 11,657 megawatts emissions... Pay the representative coal-powered plant in Indiantown in 2016 with the electricity thats used to frack that gas well... The panels will be able to generate 11,657 megawatts they had this Times-Union columnist surveilled, according to the energy... Capacity in the 2020 election cycle in three senate races throughout the state owned the coal plant used the to! Utility 's preferred governing florida power and light scandal frack that gas as well as the closest thing Alabama politics has to be large... The electricity thats used to frack that gas as well as the local pollution issues, she said McGrath.! Passing those savings on to customers plan ultimately failed, and Stoddard was re-elected law. & amp ; Light is pushing for it as Floridas biggest utility it has million... More can be done, Shober said traditional utility business model NextEra and its Florida... To 243 cities in Florida intent to close it, which occurred last summer about gas...

Hastings Direct Loans Phone Number Or Contact Details, Hotel Marincanto Wedding Cost, Top Mlb Manager Candidates 2022, Articles F