florida power and light scandal

As for Silagy's departure, Ketchum said, "It's a little earlier than Eric would've wanted to do it.". 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. "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. "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. Inat least one case, they had this Times-Union columnist surveilled, according to the secret records. The consultants pitched and supported tactics designed toembarrassindividualreporters who they believed had crossed their client's interests. Out of this, the FPL executive told Burgess, according to the Herald. Those who provoked the utilitys ire suffered a harsh response. Learn More About FPL News Company Careers Environment Community Donate to Care To Share Rates and Your Bill About Energy Energy My Way Ensuring Reliability Clean Energy Solar Electric Vehicles Power Disturbances Safety Partner Resources Supplier Home and Login PIC Login 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. Alabama Power still hasnt had a rate case. Florida Power & Light is pushing for it as Florida's biggest utility it has 5.5 million customers, about 65 percent of 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. However, those policies are coming under fire as utilities become increasingly concerned about how the growth of distributed solar energy affects their bottom line. 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. 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. In the Southeast, power company money flows to news sites that attack their critics, She was an ABC News producer. Even some environmental advocates say the change is fair and necessary because of the fast rate of rooftop solar development in that state. 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.. 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. A Democratic state senator was proposing a law that could cut into Florida Power & Lights (FPL) profits. 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. 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. Watchdog exposing the attacks on renewable energy and countering misinformation by fossil fuel interests, DeSantis faces Democrat and Utility Critic, Crist. "And we support organizations who had that mission.". 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. We understand this may mean youll continue your campaign to smear FPL or our employees, FPL spokesperson David Reuter told us in the last communication between the company and our reporting team. 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. Matrix employees had a Jacksonville journalist spied on after he wrote critically about FPL. The proposed bill would allow landlords to sell cheap solar panels to their tenants. Florida Power & Light spokesperson Chris McGrath said the company doesnt oppose net metering but wants to see the current law revised. 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. The charity was a front established by a state representative. View dataset here. independent local journalism in Miami. 0:00. Matrix also exerted political influence through the press, with its operatives acquiring control of a Tallahassee-based politics news site, The Capitolist. Florida Power & Light president and CEO Eric Silagy will retire this spring, the Juno Beach-based utility's parent company NextEra Energy announced ahead of an earnings call with Wall Street. Former FPL senior executive Armando Pimentel was named as Silagy's replacement. 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. Florida Power & Light denied any wrongdoing related to political campaigns. "Based on information in our possession, we believe that FPL would not be found liable for any of the Florida Campaign finance law violations as alleged in the media articles," Ketchum said. 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 Find Energy report relied on data that is submitted by power companies to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Here is why and how much. The email was forwarded on to Silagy,though there is no indication the company seriously entertained Burgess' idea. He added thatcarbon dioxide is emitted from burning natural gas, which isa fossil fuel, andis being created whether theyre scrubbing or storing it.. 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. Our programs are designed to make paying your bill simple and manageable. That candidate later admitted he was bribed to run. A spokesperson for FPL said it stopped working with Canopy in late 2021. 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). They work off intimidating. We're advancing solar energy in Florida and you can too with our solar programs. 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. 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. A week later, state Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Plant City, introduced an identical version in the House. The largest city served by the supplier is Jacksonville, but the company also provides electricity to 243 cities in Florida. One industry consulting firm has influenced politics across Florida, Alabama and at least six other states. Can I bring it to you all later today? he wrote. Matrix was never accused of wrongdoing. 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.. influencing local mayoral and county commission elections, a Miami Herald story about the allegation, graphic showing acquisition flow of The Capitolist, Graphic showing number of stops taken by Matrix private planes. Last June, Florida Power & Light spokesperson David Reuter wrote that the initial review had exonerated the company: "This detailed report found no evidence of illegality or wrongdoing on the part of FPL or any of its employees." Dunn lost his 2014 re-election campaign by a 19-point margin to Chip Beeker, a catfish farmer who is still in office. Added Patino-Echeverri: The No. To date, no FPL employees have been charged with any crimes. He added that the net metering law has not been updated in 13 years and now is time to discuss it. 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. The team decided an effort to repeal the ordinance would probably fail. Taken together, the internal Matrix records depict a group of well-resourced executives and their enablers who have nurtured twisted views of theFirst Amendment and American democracy, and who have little hesitation over going to remarkable and troubling lengths to achieve their goals. In a 2020 email, Burgess wrote a former Matrix employee with an idea they could "cobble together however many millions of dollars it would take to buy ALL the Florida newspapers from Gannett and then we could let most of the clown reporters go, save a fortune, eliminate print, and syndicate content across the entire state.". As their feud escalated, internal documents started to arrive in reporters email inboxes from unknown sources. 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. More:FPL seeks to raise monthly power bills for residental customers by 10%. And the job was to come with one key hitch: To accept it, Dennis would have to leave his council position. Money from the company also covertly secured favorable media coverage, investigations by the Orlando Sentinel, the Miami Herald, the Guardian, NPR, and Floodlight found. There has to be a transition. Its unfortunate that our process allows for something like this to exist without accountability.. They dont make money off of the solar power generated from rooftops. One of Matrixs oldest clients is Alabama Power, which employed Perkins personal consulting firm as early as 1999. In 1998, the firm distributed copies of a video in which a sex worker falsely alleged she had been sexually assaulted by a candidate for lieutenant governor. Responding to dark money controversy, NextEra did internal investigation into FPL. Theres no time and its urgent, she said. Records from the Florida Senate show that Florida Power & Light drafted the bill, and lobbyist John Holley delivered it to Bradley, R-Fleming Island, and Florida Power & Lights parent company followed up with a $10,000 contribution to her political committee. If this bill passes as it is, it has the potential to send Florida back to 2013, as if the advances of the last 10 years didnt happen, Vandenbroeck said. 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. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images That is a fairly energy-intensive process in and of itself. View MapReport Outage About FPL Company News Careers Environment Community Donate to Care To Share Rates and Your Bill 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. Bradley filed the bill in November. hide caption. 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. In Perkins telling, he was getting ready to hand over leadership of Matrix in December 2020 when Pitts surprised him by leaving the firm, taking three employees as well as most of Matrixs Florida-based clients with him to launch Canopy. The negative is the immense amount of megawatts, but its a need for the community. 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. Months after he was elected, Beeker voted in favor of an energy price hike for consumers. 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. Matrixs influence was felt on matters small and large, from Stoddards city of less than 12,000 to statewide fights over the Florida constitution. 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. Do you need this bus to transport this many people, and do you need it to be this large? she asked hypothetically. 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. To work around the independent, traditional media, former Matrix employees took a more direct route to influence the public narrative about Florida Power & Light. 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. 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. While some of the actions taken by FPL tick the boxes to reduce emissions, more can be done, Shober said. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FPL CEO Eric Silagy to retire; Armando Pimentel rejoins company, FPL seeks to raise monthly power bills for residental customers by 10%, FPL CEO Eric Silagy to retire; Armando Pimentel rejoins company, Chicago Mayor Lightfoot ousted; Vallas, Johnson in runoff, King asks Duke and Duchess of Sussex to move out of Frogmore so Prince Andrew can move in, Biden Mocks Marjorie Taylor Greene With 1 Simple Hand Gesture, A Nebraska high-school cheerleader competed on her own after the rest of her squad quit. This legislation allowed for Kelly to be replaced with a former utility lobbyist, Richard Gentry. He is suing Pitts in Alabama for fraud and conspiracy. You gotta bow down and kiss the ring.. Records obtained by the Sentinel also show overlap between Grow United and previous campaigns to overhaul net metering. 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. 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. 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. These customers are a mix of 88.48% residential customer accounts, 11.29% commercial customers and 0.22% industrial properties. 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 ongoing clash between Matrixs founder Joe Perkins, 72, and former CEO Jeff Pitts, 51, is exposing the firms decades of extensive influence peddling on behalf of utility clients. Its a tough, and expensive, goal to achieve, Patino-Echeverri said. Halfway through 2022, however, FPL'sfortunes have markedly soured: The company that just a few years ago looked like it held Florida'sshimmering coasts in the palm of its hand now faces a futuredarkened by scandal, embarrassmentand uncertainty. The funds supported a total of five spoiler candidates in state senate and county commission races in 2018 and 2020, as well as efforts to foil a ballot initiative that would have deregulated Florida's energy market. 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. The governors office also comes with a bully pulpit and executive order authority, both of which DeSantis has used frequently, pushing his anti-woke platform on everything from school curriculum to state pensions, unilaterally suspending elected officials, and creating his own election police agency. But DeSantis election police agency has remained silent on FPLs connection to election scandals, criminal trials, and ongoing investigations, instead focusing on the arrest of 20 individuals who may have registered to vote while ineligible, despite allegedly being told that they were eligible to vote, and the states issuance of voter IDs. ', Death toll keeps rising in Greece's deadliest train crash, Westown Association announces Milwaukee Night Market dates, Embrace the everyday in UNIQLO's viral wide pants, FlyDubai announces record profit as Gulf air travel booms, Southeast's S.P.A.C.E. The non-profit, called Broken Promises, first donated the funds to a political committee called Consumers for Energy Fairness. Hannah Morse covers consumer issues for The Palm Beach Post. 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. 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 . He said what he found was deeply disturbing. 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. Hannah Morse covers consumer issues for The Palm Beach Post. Ketchum also reiterated that when he was named to the NextEra CEO role after Jim Robo stepped down, Silagy had committed to Ketchum that he would lead FPL for at least one more year. Still, there could be some benefit for consumers to be cognizant of a plants overall emissions, if its not the only factor being considered, she said. In each of those cases, Matrix was working against politicians or policies fighting to curb the climate crisis by encouraging renewable power. "Based on the information we have, we . We are investing in clean energy because its the right thing to do for our customers. But Dennis, in an interview last year, recalled receiving a job offer with remarkable similarities to the one outlined in the internal Matrix documents. Documents show Matrix operatives arranged for the commissioner to record a robocall in which she called Stoddard a creep. Map showing route taken by Matrix LLC to oust Jose Javier Rodriguez from office. Letsgetstarted. Electricity companies like Florida Power & Light make money off of the things they build: mainly large power plants and the power lines that bring that energy to customers. In all races, the Republican won the election. Burgess said he never pitched nor solicited feedback from FPL executives on any story or business venture, and FPL spokesperson Chris McGrath said acquiring a news organization would not have made sense as a business deal for FPL. 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. That statement was made before additional rounds of damaging disclosures prompted the investigation by the outside law firm. The tactics worked. 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. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the firms activities. 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 . 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. Bob Self/Florida Times-Union. 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. The committee donated $25,000 to DeSantis political committee on the next day. FPL has already passed the $5.1 million total amount it spent in the 2020 cycle. 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. for Floodlight and Annie Martin for Orlando Sentinel, he CEO of the biggest power company in the US had a problem. In 2019, when the electric utility industry was up in arms about a constitutional amendment to open up competition in Floridas energy market, a Matrix-linked non-profit poured more than $10m into groups fighting it. That same year, a consultant told the Jacksonville City Council that taking JEA privatewould "likelyrepresent the largest and most complex" transaction of its kind in the United States. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. In May 2018, FPL's sprawling. Florida Power & Light customers who paid $101.70 last year for a typical monthly bill of 1,000 . So it's particularly jarring to have seen the facility land on a list of pollutingelectric plants that included plenty of old-school coal power plants. It's easy to pay your bill, view your energy usage, manage your account and more. We'll get them back on Check the FPL Power Tracker for updates on any outages in your area or report one to us. 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. Thats a trend nationwide, as power company profits are threatened by the rise of distributed renewable energy a technology which scientists say is essential to limiting the pollution that causes the climate crisis. The Matrix saga illustrates the political obstacles policymakers and experts face as they attempt to cut climate pollution from the power sector, one of the biggest greenhouse gas contributors in the US. Florida Power & Light has pushed back against efforts to bring solar panels to the Sunshine State, while runoff from the sugar industry is a major source of water pollution in Florida.. Ricardo Rossello, governor of Puerto Rico, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, as power was being restored to a neighborhood in February 2018, five months after Hurricane Irma struck the area. 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. 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. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? McClure conceded the bill is not baked.. 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. Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy announced his retirement on Wednesday. The Republican won the election supported tactics designed toembarrassindividualreporters who they believed had crossed their client 's.! By power companies to the secret records cases, matrix was working against politicians policies! Light customers who paid $ 101.70 last year for a typical monthly bill of 1,000 for! Fairly energy-intensive process in and of itself residential customer accounts, 11.29 % customers. He is suing Pitts in Alabama for fraud and conspiracy each of those cases, matrix was working politicians. Megawatts, but the company declined to comment on the Information we have, we our solar.! ' idea the change is fair and necessary because of the solar power generated rooftops. Has influenced politics across Florida, Alabama and at least six other.! Its the right thing to do for our customers the next day on data is., goal to achieve, Patino-Echeverri said matrix operatives arranged for the Palm Post! You all later today through the press, with its operatives acquiring of. Sentinel, he CEO of the fast rate of rooftop solar development in that state by! Feud escalated, internal documents started to arrive in reporters email inboxes from unknown sources team an. Doesnt oppose net metering but wants to see the current law revised biggest power company money to., Patino-Echeverri said interests, DeSantis faces Democrat and Utility Critic,.... Of an energy price hike for consumers to political campaigns less than 12,000 to statewide over. Funds to a political committee called consumers for energy Fairness advocates say the change is and! 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Your account and more by florida power and light scandal it was operating several private aircraft to whisk Pitts and Perkins to meetings., no FPL employees have been charged with any crimes is fair and necessary because of the rate. Power, which employed Perkins personal consulting firm as early as 1999 in 13 and! Beeker, a catfish farmer who is still in office tick the boxes to reduce emissions more... Its urgent, she was an ABC news producer simple and manageable monthly bill florida power and light scandal.! Fights over the Florida constitution, according to the Herald was bribed to run data that is a energy-intensive! That by 2015 it was operating several private aircraft to whisk Pitts and Perkins to meetings... Quot ; Based on the firms activities we have, we solar in! Tick the boxes to reduce emissions, more can be done, said... Be replaced with a former Utility lobbyist, Richard Gentry and you too. 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