(Rooftop solar systems generally last for 25 years or longer.) The no-party candidate, Alexis Alex Rodriguez, who did not campaign, received more than 6,000 votes. The other candidate later revealed that he had been bribed to run. Contacted for a response, a NextEra spokesman did not address the issues at FPL or the potential for blowback for the parent company, but he did point to recent comments from Kirk Crews, NextEras chief financial officer. Life expectancy in the U.S. fell during the same period that a Reagan-era law raised the retirement age by two years. We can do so much more on student loan forgiveness. Now, the Lands Are Being Offered to Solar Companies. In 2018, state Sen. Keith Perry won re-election against Democrat Kayser Enneking by about 2,000 votes, due in large part to a third-party former Democrat candidate likely pulling votes away from Enneking. 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NextEra Energy CEO James Robo responded to a question from a Bank of America Securities analyst and said the company had FPL CEO Eric Silagy turn over emails and text messages and concluded. In a Jan. 5 letter, they asked the commission to determine whether the company was using ratepayer money for political purposes. A lot will depend on how FPL conducts itself moving forward. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? Their power over utilities in Florida was challenged by legislation proposed by the Democratic Senator of Florida, Jos Javier Rodrguez, in 2019. The shady business practices of FPL, as well as the discrepancy between NextEra being a catalyst in the clean energy movement while FPL relies on fossil fuels, may not bode well. (Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Josie Kao). Veterans for Conservative Principles treasurer was Dave Ramba, whose firm Ramba Consulting Group has lobbied for FPL for years. Its video library also archives coverage for later viewing. NextEra Energy (NE) is currently under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Derek Robins June 26, 2022 Business Enforcement for funneling money through a partisan political committee to a "ghost candidate" scheme that has already resulted in felony charges against five political operatives. The mailers featured similar language that appeared to target progressive voters, pulling from the Democratic candidate, as reported by the Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel. Energy Fairness also fought an energy choice ballot initiative in Florida in 2016 and one of the consultants it hired, FTIs Matthew DeCourcey, wrote on his resume that Energy Fairness was representing the interests of regulated utilities.. Last month, I attended a public hearing for a NextEra solar proposal in central Ohio, and I saw how several backers of the project talked about the companys involvement as a good thing. Its frustrating to see the Public Service Commission express no interest or concern in Floridas largest investor-owned utility company engaging in questionable smear campaigns and potentially illegal election activity while they increase rates, she said Wednesday. Dan Gearino covers the midwestern United States, part of ICNs National Environment Reporting Network. Its useless at this time because theres nothing out there and the cars that you do find, everythings gone up in price.. 11/30/2021. The state senate districts were 9, 37, and 39. In one Orlando Sentinel article, Silagy was accused of working with a political consultant to harass a Democratic state senator who introduced legislation unfavorable to FP&L. I believe that NextEra is a respectable developer, said Jeremy Welch, testifying at the hearing on behalf of a union that supports the project. Description. Bainter was also heavily involved in Perrys campaign and was suspected by some observers to have orchestrated the funding behind Gostons third-party candidacy, which may have included funds connected to a utility front group. Almost immediately, FPL reached out to the CEO of Matrix, LLC a political consulting firm. NEW YORK, Feb 28(Reuters) - The new head of Florida Power & Light (FP&L) has at least one important objective above and beyond running U.S. power giant NextEra's crown jewel utility, analysts say: stay out of the headlines. When McClure first introduced the concept of changing Floridas net metering policy in 2019, he had already taken over $20,000 from investor-owned utilities. Clarification: This story was updated on January 27, 2022, to reflect that the Jacksonville job was arranged by consultants for FPL, not directly by the company. While FPL maintains they didnt know the full extent of what the firm was doing, piles of leaked emails and texts say otherwise. Who will build the $6 billion road and bridge projects underway in Tampa Bay? He also was instrumental in the 2019 political campaign against the so-called energy choice petition drive, which was opposed by FPL and other utilities. At the end of the earnings call, Robo announced he will be retiring from his position on March 1 and John Ketchum, currently president and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, will succeed him. If you liked this article, please donate $5 to keep NationofChange online through November. NextEra Energy Resources, LLC is a clean energy leader and is one of the largest wholesale generators of electric power in the U.S., with approximately 23,900 megawatts of total net generating . You want to measure economic success? In some parts of our organization there are capacities way beyond their need and that needs to be rectified, CEO Jochen Eickholt said in a conference call with analysts. This reporting has raised significant questions around the potential of ratepayer funds being used to not only influence elections but to undermine democracy through fake candidate schemes, astroturfing, and attempted bribes wrote state Reps. Anna Eskamani, Carlos Guillermo Smith, Angie Nixon and Travaris McCurdy. Questions about recent news stories came up during NextEras fourth-quarter earnings call with financial analysts. Were working hard to bring you the latest news from the states legislative session. This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau. Shares of NextEra sank late last month by nearly 9%, their biggest daily drop in more than two years, after the company abruptly announced Silagy would retire under the threat of a formal. The investigation around Artiles and the Senate District 37 race is ongoing. In one case, one of those three committees got $115,000 from an Associated Industries-controlled group and immediately paid $104,909 to Alvarado Strategies, the Sentinel reported. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. [], [] has not shied away from shady political dealings in the past. The Miami Herald has confirmed that NextEra has been conducting an internal investigationon FPLs involvement in the ghost candidate scheme. Pimentel has been a well-known but low-key power industry figure whose familiarity with NextEra suggests he will provide consistent leadership for with NextEra's top subsidiary, said Glenrock Associates utility analyst Paul Patterson. He helped build NextEra Energy Resources and seemed to choose his retirement as opposed to being forced out, the former colleague said. I dont think youre going to see any headlines like that (with Pimentel). Pimentel was CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, the companys unregulated arm focused on renewable power, for eight years before retiring in 2019. Artiles has been connected to Florida utilities, including NextEra and its subsidiary Florida Power and Light (FPL), for years. News images are from video content on CNNs YouTube Channel. Sign up for our newsletter: Get Capitol Buzz, a special bonus edition of The Buzz with Emily L. Mahoney, each Saturday while the Legislature is meeting. In the 2020 cycle alone, the Florida Republican Senate Campaign Committee (FRSCC) reported over $7 million dollars in expenditures to Data Targeting, for services including research, polling, advertising, campaign staff, and line items only reported as consulting. Nearly $183,000 of FRSCCs spending with Data Targeting was earmarked for the Senate District 37 race, the same race that led to Artiles arrest. Florida utilities donated nearly $1.5 million to FRSCC in the 2020 cycle. Canopy was started by former Matrix employees, led by Jeff Pitts. Perry has received $13,500 in direct political donations from Florida utilities, including $1,000 from NextEra, $2,500 from NextEra company Gulf Power, $4,500 from Duke, and $5,500 from TECO, according to campaign finance filings. Sources report that the current NextEra investigation may be part of a wider probe into ethicalcomplaints against Simpson, the Senate President, including allegations that campaign moneywas spent to cover the fact that he fathered a child out of wedlock with a lobbyist for the Publixsupermarket chain. Artiles has long-standing close connections with FPL, as previously reported by Energy and Policy Institute in 2020 and 2021. Bradley has taken $52,500 from Florida investor-owned utilities, between her campaign account and her political committee. Fargo, ND, USA / The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGO. They remained that way until they took a stake in early wind farms in exchange for canceling the debts owed to them. I dont have very many neighbors talk to me anymore, said Mark Schein, a retired farmer who upset people by leasing his property for the project, along with about a dozen others in the community. That political power has helped FPL to secure a return on equity of 10.6% in the latest rate increases that it secured from regulators much higher than the national average for utilities. By continuing to use this site, you accept this policy. For example, Richard Alexander, who lives in Cullman, Ala., and not only chairs Grow United, he also has been tied to groups that were created to promote the agenda of Floridas powerful sugar and electric utilities industries, according to the Orlando Sentinel. A former NextEra colleague of Pimentel's, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Pimentel was a "straightforward, fact-based and driven" coworker with a calm temperament. The legislators responded on Jan. 10, saying they considered the commissions review incomplete given the news stories. Simply put, the PSC is charged with ensuring that the rates charged to customers by a utility are fair, just and reasonable, and that those rates are set at levels sufficient to recover only the prudently incurred costs to provide service, Baez wrote. It was also announced that Silagy, the president and CEO of FPL, will take on the added responsibility of chairman of FPL. On Wednesday, FPL spokesperson Chris McGrath denied that FPL was involved in the ghost candidate scheme. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. So, thats probably all that were going to say on that today.. If . Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. The settlement is the end result of a . The 145-mile (233-kilometer), nearly $1 billion transmission line, known as New England Clean Energy Connect, broke ground in February after nearly three years of review by regulators. He also was instrumental in the 2019 political campaign against the so-called energy choice petition drive, which was opposed by FPL and other utilities. The races for Senate District 9 and 39 followed the same pattern. In response to the stories, FPL has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. If trust in NextEra dwindlesand seemingly it has, if stock recommendations are anything to judge bypeople might be less willing to consider the installation of a wind farm in their community. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License by Energy and Policy Institute. Attack on Rooftop Solar The Orlando Sentinel connected Republican consultant Alex Alvarado, Jobs for Florida and Floridians for Economic Freedom, attack on rooftop solar in 2020, via Florida Representative Lawrence McClure, NextEra, Florida utilities closely aligned with election fraud suspect Frank Artiles DangerousWombatDream, NextEra, Florida utilities closely aligned with election fraud suspect Frank Artiles shoukhin vlog, Records Show Senior Florida Power & Light Execs Closely Connected to Election Scandals - Energy and Policy Institute, Louisiana Democratic Party Funneled Utility Donations to Climate Candidate Challenger - DeSmog, Louisiana Democratic Party Funneled Utility Donations to Climate Candidate Challenger | Climate Change, Louisiana Democratic Party funneled utility donations to climate candidate's - Tools for Investors | News, Louisiana Democratic Party Funneled Utility Donations to Climate Candidate Challenger CommunistNews.net, Louisiana Democratic Party funneled utility donations to climate candidate challenger - Verite, Michigan utilities front groups begin misleading ad campaigns ahead of a vote on energy legislation. Public Lands in the US Have Long Been Disposed to Fossil Fuel Companies. While it is not illegal to conspire to place a third-party candidate into an election, paying for that placement and failing to properly report the money involved is. Some critics of Florida Power & Light, like Alissa Jean Schafer of watchdog group Energy Policy Institute, have welcomed Pimentels uneventful background. In 2017, Artiles ended up in the headlines again over his ceremonial role at a NASCAR event sponsored by NextEra, where he waved the starting flag in a NextEra branded jacket, pictures of which he posted on his Facebook page. Artiles has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Research and documents obtained and published by Orlando Sentinel reporters reveal that senior officials at Florida Power & Light (FPL), the largest electric utility in Florida, provided funding to the organization and consultants who engineered the spoiler candidates. NextEra was a traditional utility company when it was started in 1925. Can the PSC provide a complete list of 501(c)4 social welfare organizations that FPL has provided funding to over the past five years? SAC 1-2. If trust in NextEra dwindlesand seemingly it has, if stock recommendations are anything to judge bypeople might be less willing to consider the installation of a wind farm in the. Date. Eskamani of Orlando said Baezs response left her unsatisfied. Letsgetstarted. They probably chose him to be a steady the ship-type figure, said Jack Dearing, an analyst withWashington-based Capstone LLC, which advises investors and companies on policy issues. AIF has close financial ties to Floridas investor owned utilities, as EPI has documented. relationship with two political nonprofit committees Grow United, shown that as part of the ghost candidate scheme. At NextEra Energy, we're committed to our core values of being committed to excellence, doing the right thing and treating people with respect. NextEras executives and shareholders have reason to worry, but its too soon to know how much. They may have to wait until prosecutors investigate for answers, but Artiles history and ties to Florida utilities may provide some clues. So, thats probably all that were going to say on that today.. A look at the changing global population. Rodriguez has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. In November 2021, for example, the company spent $20 million to ban the 145-mile transmission line needed to transport clean energy in Maine. 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