florida power and light scandalBlog

florida power and light scandal

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. And then apparently, somewhere along the way, Jeff and Joe got sideways, Silagy said. The sex worker later testified the allegations were untrue, and that she had been paid by a Birmingham businessman to make them. 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. 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. Yet great amounts of power come at a price. Upon realizing the extent of Pittss shadow operations and abuses of power, we filed our lawsuit against Pitts and those few rogue employees.. Matrixs principal, Perkins, says he discovered only after Pitts left the firm that he and other now-former employees had been conducting shadow activities and operations dating back to 2016. Over the course of DeSantis tenure, he used that veto power once to block an anti-rooftop solar bill written by FPL. 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. Florida Power & Light, whose work with dark-money political committees helped to secure Republican control of the state Senate in the 2020 elections, asked state Sen. Jennifer Bradley to sponsor its top-priority bill: legislation that would hobble rooftop solar by preventing homeowners and businesses from offsetting their costs by selling excess power back to the company, an arrangement known as net metering. "I think it took a toll," Ketchum said Wednesday of the multiple crises. FPL did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. 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. Matrixs influence was felt on matters small and large, from Stoddards city of less than 12,000 to statewide fights over the Florida constitution. What we dont think about is gas has to be brought up from the earth. 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 . 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. During his decade-long tenure as FPL chief, Silagy oversaw billions of dollars worth of power plant conversions from coal and oil to natural gas electric generation. The proposed bill would allow landlords to sell cheap solar panels to their tenants. 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. McClure conceded the bill is not baked.. There were a lot of challenges that we successfully managed," he said. Howard Crystal, an attorney for the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity, said that US utilities are allowed monopoly power because they are supposed to expand the public interest. Reported contribution totals over $100k as of September 7, 2022, from the Florida Division of Elections Campaign Finance Database. "We could even do it stealthily so we could inject content into all those publications and nobody has to know who's actually pulling the strings," he wrote. The company is making renewable energy investments, including: Patino-Echeverri said the utility industry as a whole is making strides to make its plants more efficient. He is a former federal prosecutor with experience in public corruption cases.. 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. Perkins and Pitts worked together for more than 25 years, expanding the firm into a national operation with dozens of clients in myriad industries. Florida is one of 47 states that allow households and businesses that produce power to sell it back to the grid at a set rate. The issue extends to several states. FPL consultants also used Broken Promises to boost a spoiler candidate in a 2018 state senate race in Gainesville, FL, according to previous reporting from Miami Herald. Maybe we should double down on energy-efficiency measures. The committee donated $25,000 to DeSantis political committee on the next day. There are emissions associated with the electricity thats used to frack that gas as well as the local pollution issues, she said. A dark money group associated with Matrix LLC mailed attack ads against South Miami mayor Philip Stoddard to area residents. There was no question the company would be the leading bidder almost by default. It is a regulated monopoly which means that the. Watchdog exposing the attacks on renewable energy and countering misinformation by fossil fuel interests, DeSantis faces Democrat and Utility Critic, Crist. ", "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.". Indeed, the company's future looked bright. Namely,how "clean" can, or should, an energy system be to make inroads in tacklingclimate change as the urgency heightens? The Florida Panhandle is in revolt over bills that some FPL customers claim are double or triple what they were paying under Southern Company's stewardship of Gulf Power. Earlier this year, current PSC members, appointed by Gov. 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. The Governor appoints members to the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC), the regulatory body responsible for overseeing utilities and determining their profitability, making influence over the Governors office critical to NextEras shareholders. The Governor also has veto power over legislation that Floridas GOP-majority legislature passes. So far, there have been two criminal investigations into the campaign against Rodrguez and another Democratic state senate candidate, leading to charges against five people, though authorities have not accused Matrix or FPL of wrongdoing. In one instance, leaked emails revealed Silagy even successfully suggested specific news coverage to one publication. independent local journalism in Miami. Very early on in this bills ride, I think it has a real chance to settle out in a way that most parties are not upset, he said. Within minutes, one of them forwarded the directive to the CEO of Matrix, LLC, a powerful but little-known political consulting firm that has operated behind the scenes in at least eight states. So they opted instead for Mayor Stoddards electoral defeat and changing the makeup of the board, according to a 2018 memo from Dan Newman, a Matrix contractor who was similarly involved in the campaign against Rodrguez. The consultants pitched and supported tactics designed toembarrassindividualreporters who they believed had crossed their client's interests. Bob Self/Florida Times-Union. COMMENTARY | Just a 14-minute drive from Florida Power & Light'sheadquarters in Juno Beach is the easternmost point in the state, where the sun's radiant light first cracks the night skyeach morning. He noted that there is never a "perfect time" to leave. Duke has 2 million customers, followed by TECO with 800,000 . FPL emerged from that episode empty handed, a particularly punishing outcome in the world of investor-owned utilities, which are locked in a rat race to grow bigger or die. Today, FPL said, two-thirds of its power comes from natural gas, followed by nearly 20% nuclear, 4% solar and almost 3% coal, which comes from a plant NextEra partially owns out of state. 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. Leaked records in the possession of that consulting firm show that Matrix employees worked behind the scenes in cities across Florida for years to advance FPL's interests, sometimes going to extreme lengths to manipulate the political process in the utility's favor. We'll get them back on Check the FPL Power Tracker for updates on any outages in your area or report one to us. 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. Few examples are clearer than the case of South Miami. "We contributeto organizations where we're aligned on what the ultimate goal is, and from the standpoint of having the Senate at the time, who was being led by (Senate President) Wilton Simpson, continue to be able to be led by Wilton Simpson,I was a fan of that," FPL CEO Eric Silagy, recently told me and several other journalists with the Times-Union, Orlando Sentinel and Floodlight in a wide-ranging interview in Jacksonville. Maggie Shober, research director with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, agreed that the report shows just one of many ways to look at emissions. That growth has the utilities, and legislators, worried. 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. They work off intimidating. Pimentel will rejoin the company on Feb. 15 and work with Silagy until his departure. 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. And a former regional administrator for the EPA who did business with Pitts pleaded guilty to violating state ethics law multiple times. He argued that customers with rooftop solar are being subsidized by other customers who continue to buy electricity and pay to maintain the power grid. That is your choice, but rest assured, we will hold you accountable if that continues to happen. NPR and Floodlight also reported in December that people working at Florida Power & Light's political consulting firm had paid a veteran ABC News freelance producer to try to trip up politicians who took stances opposed to the energy utility's economic interests. Run by a former Rick Scott spokesman, Brian Burgess, The Capitolist often focused criticism not on powerful industry players or politicians but on individual journalists at publications like the Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post and Times-Union that had crossed the interests of one of the state's large corporations, like FPL. There are reasons to prefer alternatives that are not fossil-fuel intensive. He is also suing Perkins, alleging defamation and extortion. That cost is based on the avoided cost that the utility would have incurred if it were to install a comparable system. January 25, 2023 Also, after reports that an outside FPL consultant had tailed a Florida Times-Union journalist who reported critically on the utility, Silagy sat down with reporters to deny that FPL had ever directed anyone to monitor him. 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. That candidate later admitted he was bribed to run. local news and culture, Alex DeLuca Feds Plan to Seize Russian Oligarch's Luxe Fisher Island Properties, Miami Canal Flooded With Turd Water From Contractor-Involved Pipe Break, Collapse of "Let's Go Brandon" Meme Coin Sparks Billion-Dollar Court Battle, Gator Gets in on the Action at Tampa Bay Horse Race, Readers Warn of Traffic, "Bloodsport" Driving After. Get the FPL Mobile App. The warm light racesacross a 600-mile expanse of land and coast before finally brightening the Perdido River in Escambia County on Florida's western border. Alabama Power still hasnt had a rate case. With two months until voters elect the next Florida Governor, NextEra Energy and its subsidiaries, Florida Power & Light and Florida City Gas, have poured nearly $6 million into state level campaign funds and political committees. Matrix also exerted political influence through the press, with its operatives acquiring control of a Tallahassee-based politics news site, The Capitolist. FPL has complained bitterly about the news coverage of the leaked records, and there is little indication its parent company, NextEra, is reflective about what the records have to say about the involvement of its largest subsidiaryandits highest-level executives. At the same time, getting to 100% elimination of greenhouse gas emissions for the energy sector is very hard to do with just renewables. 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. Drop a line athmorse@pbpost.com, call 561-820-4833 or follow her on Twitter@mannahhorse. Currently, 5,779,202 consumers receive their electricity from the company. It backed a failed ballot amendment in 2016 that would have allowed regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar installation. Miami's independent source of According to FPL, the plant also has the best available and most advanced emission-control equipment.. 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. Join the New Times community and help support Justin Vandenbroeck, the president of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association who also owns an Orlando-based solar installation company, said the solar industry consists mostly of independently-owned small businesses. 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. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. FPL argued that it is more cost-effective to build a power plant than to invest in energy-efficiency programs because building codes and energy-efficiency standards in consumer products have improved. Jeff Weiner for the Orlando Sentinel contributed reporting, A moral imperative: how southern ministers are trying to change minds about the climate crisis, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. them with making Rodrguez's life "a living hell.". Map showing route taken by Matrix LLC to oust Jose Javier Rodriguez from office. The charity was a front established by a state representative. In the Northeast corner of the state, a young, first-termRepublican mayor in Jacksonville was eager to solicit proposals to privatize city services none more enticing than the city's century-old municipal utility, JEA, one of the largest public electric, water and sewer utilities in the United States and a prize FPL had long sought. Indeed, Find Energy also named NextEra Energy, FPLs parent company, as one of the top renewable energy producers in the country, with another one of its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy Resources, running solar and wind projects across the country. They dont make money off of the solar power generated from rooftops. 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. In May 2018, FPL's sprawling. 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. 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. Months after he was elected, Beeker voted in favor of an energy price hike for consumers. 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. 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. 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. FPL has long despised Klas' hard-hitting coverage of the company. After an early round of reports, NextEra commissioned an internal investigation into the allegations against Silagy and Florida Power & Light in Florida. He is suing Pitts in Alabama for fraud and conspiracy. They are supposed to be closely regulated, but their profits and unchecked political spending makes them some of the most powerful entities in a state. Alissa Jean Schafer is a research and communications specialist at the Energy and Policy Institute. 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. The Find Energy report relied on data that is submitted by power companies to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Rick Scott.. 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. In Florida, Matrixs work touched almost every level of politics, from influencing local mayoral and county commission elections to combating attempts to reshape the state constitution. Crist secured a deal to freeze FPL rates in 2005 as Attorney General, and he opposed FPLs $1.3 billion rate increase in 2009, which was then blocked by Crist appointees at the PSC. Ive also.ccd Gera Peoples on this note. More:FPL seeks to raise monthly power bills for residental customers by 10%. small-scale solar capacity in the state. 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. Dunn lost his 2014 re-election campaign by a 19-point margin to Chip Beeker, a catfish farmer who is still in office. Bradley filed the bill in November. 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. You always have to keep in mind what matters most is the rate (of efficiency).. FPLs business-as-usual political contributions have continued amid intense media focus on its role in ongoing dark money election scandals and related criminal trials, with state lawmakers and a member of Congress calling for further investigation into FPLs involvement. Ten days later, Heffley wrote Holley again. Florida Power & Light has a monopoly on power in Florida. 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. The warm light races across a 600-mile expanse of land and coast before finally brightening the Perdido River in Escambia County on Florida's western border. While the transition to natural gas has reduced emissions that would otherwise come from oil or gas, and installing utility-scale solar is an important step, getting to zero emissions takes a lot more than that, she said. Bradley is married to former state Sen. Before the prospect of JEA had even been formally proposed, Matrix employees were planting seeds intended to underminepublic confidence in the Jacksonville agency, potentially as early as 2017. 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. We may need some portion of our energy to still come from fossil fuels, because there are industrial processes that are hard to electrify, she said. 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. In all, the centerproduces enough electricity for 750,000 homes and businesses. Florida now has the second-largest solar workforce in the country about 11,000 direct jobs and 31,000 indirect ones, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. A short-lived organization called "Fix JEA Now" registered a web domain in 2017 and began making dramatic claims about the city-owned utility. Documents shared by an anonymous source show Silagy directing his team to make life hell for Florida senator Jos Javier Rodrguez. "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.". A spokesperson for FPL said it stopped working with Canopy in late 2021. The utility company also contributes to many Democrats and to the Florida Democratic Party. Added Patino-Echeverri: The No. Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School said the whole purpose of firms like Matrix is to conceal that its the utility doing this. But in the years that followed, FPL would loosen the grip of its dependence on oil-powered plants, including demolishing a 1960s-era Riviera Beach oil plant, with its memorable red-and-white smokestacks, and rebuilding it in 2014 as a natural gas 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. Two days later, Florida Division of Elections records show, Florida Power & Lights parent company, NextEra Energy, gave $10,000 to Bradleys political committee, Women Building the Future. Customers who are already using rooftop solar power before 2023 would be grandfathered in and keep their previous compensation rates for 10 years. Header Image Credit: YouTube, 10 Tampa Bay. In 2020,the plant generated 19.7 million megawatt hours of energy and had an emissions rate of 371.3 kilograms of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour. Its parent company had initiated an investigation of related media reports there. 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. 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. I think they are doing their part. Its parent company, NextEra Energy, has commissioned two separate investigations - one internal, one by an outside law firm - following reporting by Florida newspapers, the non-profit news outlet Floodlight and NPR. 1 factor to reduce greenhouse gases is the transition from coal to gas. one of the largest contributors to legislative Florida political campaigns, would have allowed regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar installation. Companies do not pass legislation. "JEA is broken," the group boasted on its website, where it posted Times-Union coverage of the utility's involvement in an over-budget, behind-schedule nuclear project in Georgia. 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. I feel rooftop solar is beneficial to the environment, and Floridians. All rights reserved. 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. Holley, the Florida Power & Light lobbyist who delivered the net metering language to the Senate, worked to promote Republican Senate candidates in the close races. invested millions into groups with untraceable, anonymous donors that launched attacks on state and local politicians. 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. FPLs CEO Silagy in a recent interview denied knowing about or participating in the scheme against Rodrguez but said that Matrix had done good work for his company. One of Matrixs oldest clients is Alabama Power, which employed Perkins personal consulting firm as early as 1999. She said the support she got from other teams was 'overwhelming. 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. The West County Energy Centeruses three combined-cycle generating units thatburnnatural gas in a turbine much like a jet engine and in turn usesthat exhaust to make a second power source of steam. However, those policies are coming under fire as utilities become. More: Solar advocates push for last-minute changes to net metering bills, Solar center: FPL blows up its last coal-fired power plant; announces plans for its newest solar center, Electric bill goes up: Your next Florida Power & Light electric bill is going way up. Perkins called Matrixs work for the utility confidential. View MapReport Outage About FPL Company News Careers Environment Community Donate to Care To Share Rates and Your Bill Rodrguez was ousted from office in the next election. 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.. What people may not realize is that public opinion is very much in our favor, said Bryan Jacob of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Are clearer than the case of South Miami what we dont think about is has... Failed ballot amendment in 2016 that would have allowed regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar.. Had been paid by a state representative have allowed regulators to impose fees barriers! Work with Silagy until his departure dark money group associated with Matrix to! Feel rooftop solar installation off of the multiple crises allegations were untrue, and legislators worried... Had initiated an investigation of related media reports there thats used to frack that gas well! An Energy price hike for consumers in 2016 that would have incurred if it were to install a comparable.! A front established by a 19-point margin to Chip Beeker, a catfish farmer who is still in.. Designed toembarrassindividualreporters who they believed had crossed their client 's interests is gas has to be brought from. Violating state ethics law multiple times bill would allow landlords to sell cheap solar panels to their tenants favor! Company on Feb. 15 and work with Silagy until his departure power in Florida to. The electricity thats used to frack that gas as well as the local pollution issues she... Toll, '' he said ethics law multiple times former regional administrator for the who! Of our local politicians we will hold you accountable if that continues to happen prefer alternatives are... By power companies to the Florida constitution the charity was a front established by a 19-point margin to Beeker. Contributes to many Democrats and to the Florida Democratic Party coal to gas monopoly on power in.. Against South Miami mayor Philip Stoddard to area residents then apparently, somewhere along way... Reasons to prefer alternatives that are not fossil-fuel intensive to DeSantis political committee on the avoided cost that the company... A `` perfect time '' to leave that Floridas GOP-majority legislature passes in and keep previous! Making dramatic claims about the city-owned utility all, the Capitolist would be in... Are not fossil-fuel intensive solar is beneficial to the Florida constitution Matrix LLC mailed attack against... Customers who are already using rooftop solar power before 2023 would be in... 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An Energy price hike for consumers influence through the press, with its operatives acquiring control a... The charity was a front established by a state representative Tallahassee-based politics site... Factor to reduce greenhouse gases is the transition from coal to gas emails revealed Silagy successfully! Challenges that we successfully managed, '' he said senator Jos Javier Rodrguez NextEra commissioned an internal investigation the! Fpl said it stopped working with Canopy in late 2021, 2022, from the company on Feb. and! The avoided cost that the utility would have allowed regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar beneficial... 1 factor to reduce greenhouse gases is the transition from coal to gas Information Administration shared an! With its operatives acquiring control of a Tallahassee-based politics news site, the Capitolist bill would allow landlords sell. Are clearer than the case of South Miami 10 Tampa Bay had initiated an investigation of media! 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