florida power and light scandal

Only about 90,000 Florida customers, about 1 percent of the states more than 8.5 million customers, sell excess energy back to the electrical grid, but the arrangement has driven significant rooftop solar expansion in Florida. The firm later recovered more than a million files, according to Perkins, who said they reveal years of hidden, shadow work in Florida. Those who provoked the utilitys ire suffered a harsh response. Forgive me for being unserious at a time when companies like Florida Power & Light (FPL)the nation's largest utilitykeep racking up scandals, but it's kind of hard to keep track of the. The sex worker later testified the allegations were untrue, and that she had been paid by a Birmingham businessman to make them. 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). 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 Landlords would be able to. Emails show that Bradleys staff followed up with Florida Power & Light after that discussion. 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. Indeed, the company's future looked bright. A Birmingham mayor who employed Matrix got 15 years for bribery, conspiracy and fraud. Namely,how "clean" can, or should, an energy system be to make inroads in tacklingclimate change as the urgency heightens? 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. 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. McClure conceded the bill is not baked.. 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. He is suing Pitts in Alabama for fraud and conspiracy. He says he told them that he was disappointed, but there was enough work for both of them, based on the good work they had done. I think we see in the trend overall nationally is were not moving fast enough toward these cleaner sources as we clearly need to, she said. The tactics worked. Many of the documents have since been verified by additional reporting, public records or Perkins himself. 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. In California, regulators plan to increase fees on rooftop solar customers. The media reports were cited in an October 2022 Federal Election Commission complaint against several of the "dark money" non-profit organizations that received corporate funds. hide caption. Currently, 5,779,202 consumers receive their electricity from the company. 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. Our programs are designed to make paying your bill simple and manageable. 1 factor to reduce greenhouse gases is the transition from coal to gas. FPL's financials remain strong. From a public perception, maybe there is value in highlighting where our emissions come from, Patino-Echeverri said. Matrix employees spent heavily on political advertisements for a candidate with the same last name as Rodrguez, who split the vote. 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.. FPL has been ensnaredin public scandal over aggressive political tactics that Florida newspapers have laid bare since late last year. Florida Power & Light has also invested millions into groups with untraceable, anonymous donors that launched attacks on state and local politicians. Perkins has alleged in a lawsuit that Pitts led a rogue group of Matrix employees who undertook work on FPL's behalf that he only learned about after Pitts departed work worth millions in fees. You always have to keep in mind what matters most is the rate (of efficiency).. What we dont think about is gas has to be brought up from the earth. Im hopeful this is a conversation starter but, at the same time, its really hard to have a conversation when you have a gun to your head. 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. There was no question the company would be the leading bidder almost by default. Here is why and how much, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Out of this, the FPL executive told Burgess, according to the Herald. FPL has echoed Pitts' allegations and called into question the veracity of some of the leaked records, although it has repeatedly refused to provide evidence the documents have been altered in any way. 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. As such, it would seem the FPL plantsinclusion on the list is unfair. However, those policies are coming under fire as utilities become. At the start of Monday's earnings call, Ketchum, the chief executive officer of NextEra, addressed media reports and the federal election grievance head-on. More:FPL seeks to raise monthly power bills for residental customers by 10%. Dunn lost his 2014 re-election campaign by a 19-point margin to Chip Beeker, a catfish farmer who is still in office. Florida Power & Light says the cost of subsidizing its 24,000 net-metering customers was $30 million in 2020 (about $1,250 per customer). The company says the move was not prompted by recent scandals. 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. Duke has 2 million customers, followed by TECO with 800,000 . Over the course of DeSantis tenure, he used that veto power once to block an anti-rooftop solar bill written by FPL. 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." 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. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik reported this story with Mario Ariza of Floodlight, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action. There were a lot of challenges that we successfully managed," he said. President and CEO of Florida Power & Light Eric Silagy speaks to the media after FPL imploded its last Florida . Perkins and Pitts worked together for more than 25 years, expanding the firm into a national operation with dozens of clients in myriad industries. 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. That proposal was forwarded to Silagy at FPL but never came to fruition. 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. Knowing this may inspire consumers to seek out energy-efficient solutions in their own homes like LED lighting, efficient air conditioners or improving insulation and be more aware of the electricity they use, how they use it and perhaps use less. All rights reserved. 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. Yet great amounts of power come at a price. 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. And a former regional administrator for the EPA who did business with Pitts pleaded guilty to violating state ethics law multiple times. One of Matrixs oldest clients is Alabama Power, which employed Perkins personal consulting firm as early as 1999. As you may know, Gera is NextEra Energys Vice President and Chief Litigation Officer. All of that work was a closely held secret until recently. Florida Power & Light denied any wrongdoing related to political campaigns. 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. It backed a failed ballot amendment in 2016 that would have allowed regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar installation. 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 . DeSantis is running against former Republican Governor and current Democratic nominee Charlie Crist, who has been a vocal critic of FPL throughout his political career. In all races, the Republican won the election. 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. 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 company says the move was not prompted by recent scandals. She also was a corporate operative. Customer Support. 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. 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. "I think it took a toll," Ketchum said Wednesday of the multiple crises. Matrix grew so large that by 2015 it was operating several private aircraft to whisk Pitts and Perkins to client meetings. Building 30 million solar power panels by the year 2025, a goal anticipated to be met five years earlier than planned, and paid for by ratepayers. Months after he was elected, Beeker voted in favor of an energy price hike for consumers. 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. I feel rooftop solar is beneficial to the environment, and Floridians. This story is a collaboration with Floodlight. 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 . Florida Power & Light is pushing for it as Floridas 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. One person affiliated with Grow United is Abbie MacIver, who formerly worked for Energy Fairness, a group that encourages policymakers to consider the cost of energy choices, as well as their benefits. Last year, McClure sent a letter to state regulators at the Florida Public Service Commission citing the result and urging it to update its net-metering rule. Moving Florida toward a brighter energy future. He added that the company would soon challenge the complaint and call for its dismissal. January 25, 2023 While the utility has contributed over $105,000 to the Florida Democratic Party, neither Crist nor his political committee has reported any political contributions from NextEra or the companys subsidiaries during this or previous cycles. Landlords would be able to sell cheap rooftop solar power directly to their tenants. Drop a line at hmorse@pbpost.com, call 561-820-4833 or follow her on Twitter @mannahhorse. Duke has 2 million customers, followed by TECO with 800,000 and then many other smaller utilities. 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. The West County Energy Center, first serving Florida Power & Light customers in 2009 before reaching its current capacity two years later, is a natural gas-burning plant. DeSantis, who is attempting to build a populist profile ahead of a presidential run in 2024,has turned on FPL, having used his veto pen earlier this year to kill one of the utility's highest legislative priorities a controversial bill that would have limited the growth of the residential rooftop solar industryin Florida. A week later, state Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Plant City, introduced an identical version in the House. The list consists of 83 coal-powered plants, 16 natural gas plants and one plant that uses petroleum coke as its primary fuel type. The company anticipates the panels will be able to generate 11,657 megawatts. Discover Your Options Lights out? 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. Two decades ago, the company was using more than40 million barrels of oil, the most of any electric utility, McGrath said. 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. Matrix was never accused of wrongdoing. Silagy is to be replaced by Armando Pimentel, a former senior executive at NextEra Energy. They dont make money off of the solar power generated from rooftops. Follow him onTwitter@NateMonroeTU. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas emitted by human activities, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and electricity production accounts for 25% of the greenhouse gases emitted in the United States in 2019. 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. 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. Burning natural gas results in about half of the carbon dioxide emissions of burning coal, which also releases harmful metals and gases into the environment. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? 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. Miami's independent source of In the Southeast, power company money flows to news sites that attack their critics, She was an ABC News producer. Perkins has repeatedly denied leaking records, though he has verified the authenticity of numerous records underlying recent stories by the Times-Union, Orlando Sentinel and Floodlight, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. ', 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 proposed bill would allow landlords to sell cheap solar panels to their tenants. One of those Democrats,Sen. Jos Javier Rodrguez, happened to be both a prominent member of his party and an incumbent FPL particularly despised. In 2018, Perkins Communications received at least $1.49m from Alabama Power, a leaked contract shows. "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. Another factor is promoting energy efficiency at the consumer level, Shober said. Crist has also criticized FPL on the campaign trail, calling the utility out for raising its rates on Floridians and criticizing FPL for attempting to block clean energy with anti-solar legislation. 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.. Those dark-money groups were controlled by former Matrix employees, the records show. FPL has long despised Klas' hard-hitting coverage of the company. to documents submitted to the Florida Public Service Commission. In 2015, Matrix distributed fliers for a suspicious charity in a predominantly Black neighborhood in North Birmingham. Meanwhile, Matrix-led non-profits funded a blizzard of ads against Stoddard, accusing him of using public money for vendettas and placing him alongside infamous sex offenders Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein. Their power over utilities in Florida was challenged by legislation proposed by the Democratic Senator of Florida, Jos Javier Rodrguez, in 2019. We are investing in clean energy because its the right thing to do for our customers. It is a regulated monopoly which means that the. Silagy, the FPL CEO, says the pair initially told him they had come to an amicable agreement about parting ways. The company's owner, Joe Perkins, and its former CEO, Jeff Pitts, parted ways in early 2021, becoming bitter enemies locked in legal battles in courtrooms in Alabama and Jacksonville. 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. I think they are doing their part. They work off intimidating. 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. Meanwhile, groups aligned with the utility falsely tied Dunn to the Obama administrations efforts to reduce the use of coal. Ricardo Rossello,. 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. Alabama Power, which employed Perkins personal consulting firm as early as 1999, the FPL,. And call for its dismissal hmorse @ pbpost.com, call 561-820-4833 or her. 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