FPL has said it was not fully aware of what its consultant was doing, and it has cast doubt on some of the reporting. 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 investigation by the Federal Election Commission into the company's political giving. [], [] has not shied away from shady political dealings in the past. Fargo, ND, USA / The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGO. Director, Pres & CEO of Sub of Nextera Energy Inc (30-Year Financial, Insider Trades) Eric E Silagy (insider trades) sold 28,564 shares of NEE on 03/15/2021 at an average price of $75.63 a share. Send news tips and questions to dan.gearino@insideclimatenews.org. I dont expect much of a change, leaving aside all of the stuff going on with the outgoing CEO, Patterson said. 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 there was no evidence of illegality or wrongdoing on the part of FPL or any of its employees.. Veterans for Conservative Principles treasurer was Dave Ramba, whose firm Ramba Consulting Group has lobbied for FPL for years. One part of that is to convert gas-fired power plants to run on hydrogen. NextEra Energy ( NEE -1.10%) reported its first-quarter 2022 earnings yesterday, and its stock has been tumbling ever since. Im interested in what happened with FPL, but Im also looking at whether this cascade of revelations could harm the utilitys parent company, NextEra Energy, which happens to be the largest generator of renewable energy in the United States, and maybe the world. The closest NextEra has come is a promise to reduce its carbon emissions rate (i.e., emissions per unit of energy) 67% below 2005 levels by 2025. $5,000 from investor-owned utilities went to the campaign account directly: $1,000 from NextEra, $2,000 from Duke, and $2,000 from TECO. Though this bill had massive potential to make clean energy more accessible for everyday people, FPL realized their profits would be cut if it were passed. Dan Gearinos habit-forming weekly take on how to understand the energy transformation reshaping our world. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License by Energy and Policy Institute. The no-party candidate, Alexis Alex Rodriguez, who did not campaign, received more than 6,000 votes. Simpson, a longtime beneficiary of FPL political giving, may have spent NextEra-originatedfunds, with FPL knowledge, to pay off individuals with knowledge of his illegitimate child inwhat was reportedly known internally as Operation Ginger. The goal of these efforts appearto be to prevent the public from learning about the Senate Presidents indiscretions prior to hisascension to the top position in the state Legislature. We take all allegations seriously, and weve found no evidence that either FPL or our employees had any involvement in, financially supported, or directed any third party to support ghost candidates during last years Florida election cycle, he said. Entergy, which donated $10,000 to the Party [], [] has not shied away from shady political dealings in the past. The no-party candidate, Alexis Alex Rodriguez, who did not campaign, received more than 6,000 votes. FPL has for decades spent millions on lobbying and election influence at every level of politics in Florida, giving it and its parent company, NextEra Energy, immense influence over the states politicians. 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. 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. FPLs consultants used similar spoiler candidate tactics in the 2020 election cycle in three senate races throughout the state. Our #1 newsletter delivers the weeks climate and energy news our original stories and top headlines from around the web. The arrest warrant for Artiles suggests that money may have illegally exchanged hands, at least in the case of SD37. Alissa Jean Schafer is a research and communications specialist at the Energy and Policy Institute. 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. John W. Ketchum Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer NextEra Energy, Inc. Chairman Florida Power & Light Company READ MORE Armando Pimentel President and Chief Executive Officer JUNO BEACH, Fla., Nov. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC to . The legislators responded on Jan. 10, saying they considered the PSCs review incomplete given the news stories. 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. Are Floridians expected to simply believe that the standard rate case process results are comprehensive and fully accurate, especially given how much detail is left out of the public eye? they asked. You want to measure economic success? Even if you put somebody who is a perfectly fine individual with a financial background and doesnt have this aggressive history it doesnt necessarily make up for the fact of all that did happen in very recent history, Schafer said. The consultant behind Gostons campaign was Patrick Jay Bainter, the owner of a Republican political consulting firm, Data Targeting. Ive been spending time in Williamsport, Ohio, to look at the debate over the solar proposal. NextEra, TECO, and AIF did not respond to a request for comment. 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. NextEra Energy Newsroom. Dont miss a beat. Eskamani of Orlando said Baezs response left her unsatisfied. Other utilities have tried similar strategies, but none have done it on the scale of NextEra. Artiles has long-standing close connections with FPL, as previously reported by Energy and Policy Institute in 2020 and 2021. Id. 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. Bradley has taken $52,500 from Florida investor-owned utilities, between her campaign account and her political committee. Download. Were working hard to bring you the latest news from the states legislative session. 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. About NextEra Energy NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida. 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. The third-party candidate in that race, Charles Goston, earned about 4,300 votes as an independent, despite being a lifelong Democrat. That promise would allow the company to continue . History of Power: Dominion Energy's Fluid Transition. Earlier this month, the reporting by the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Times-Union, and the Miami Herald, prompted four Democratic lawmakers to ask state regulators to conduct an audit of FPL, the largest utility company in the nation and a monopoly regulated by the Florida Public Service Commission. FPL this year announced a plan it calls Real Zero to completely eliminate carbon emissions from its operations by 2045. So What Is Community Solar? In a Jan. 5 letter, they asked the commission to determine whether the company was using ratepayer money for political purposes. The papers also reported that a member of the Jacksonville City Council who didnt want to sell the citys utility company to FPL was offered a job that was arranged by consultants for FPL in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to resign from the commission. Artiles checkered past culminated with his resignation from office in 2017 after facing pressure over multiple scandals, including alcohol-fueled racial slurs directed at black members of the Florida Legislature. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License by Energy and Policy Institute. Simpson, through the FRSCC, then paid $7.2 million of this money to longtime ally Pat Bainterand Gainesville, Florida-based Republican campaign firm Data Targeting, reportedly directingthem to use the funds to support three independent candidates who would run as purportedliberals to siphon votes away from the legitimate Democrat Party candidate. Resistance to Renewable Energy Is Growing in Americas Farm Country: The need to build vast amounts of solar power is colliding with local concerns about how the projects will affect the look and feel of home. A lot is riding on NextEra in the race to clean energy. Clarification: This story was updated on Jan. 27, 2022, to reflect that the Jacksonville job was arranged by consultants for FPL, not directly by the company. Last week, Seaport Global Securities downgraded NextEras stock from buy to neutral, citing concerns about growing media scrutiny of FPLs lobbying practices. But NextEras stock price has risen since then, largely in reaction to Sen. Joe Manchins announcement he is supporting clean energy legislation, which is good news for companies developing wind, solar and batteries. 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 . In 2018-19, Mary Ellen was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. NextEra, also based in Florida, has become a giant by racking up profits from its regulated utility business at FPL and using that as a foundation to build wind, solar and battery projects across. 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. The documents also showed that Silagy coordinated with the political consultants to steer campaign contributions made through nonprofits in past elections. He started by questioning my premise that NextEra has a good reputation while its subsidiary, FPL, has taken some serious hits. Artiles is facing several felony charges for allegedly recruiting and paying an auto-parts dealer who shared the same surname as the Democratic incumbent in the race for Senate District 37 to run as a no-party candidate and confuse voters and influence the outcome of the 2020 election, according to his arrest affidavit. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Utility Front Group Advertisement Tracker, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, Gas utilities push RNG and hydrogen to expand fossil fuel infrastructure, AGA uses millions of dollars from utility customers to promote a fossil fuel agenda, Internal documents detail how gas utilities greenwash RNG and hydrogen, Front groups and trade associations funded by gas utilities fight electrification policies, List of deceptive RNG and hydrogen projects, Major investors find electric utilities are not on track to meet decarbonization goals. NextEra Energy is the largest generator of renewable energy in the United States and possibly the world. Alvarados firm, Alvarado Strategies, was paid by three political committees with connections to Associated Industries of Florida (AIF), a corporate interest group with strong utility ties. Who will build the $6 billion road and bridge projects underway in Tampa Bay? The papers also reported that a member of the Jacksonville City Council who didnt want to sell the citys utility company to FPL was offered a job that was arranged by consultants for FPL in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to resign from the commission. NextEra Energy is the largest generator of renewable energy in the United States and possibly the world. His coverage deals with the business side of the clean-energy transition and he writes ICNs Inside Clean Energy newsletter. The numbers really are very, very clear here, said Anand Gopal, executive director of strategy and policy for the think tank Energy Innovation. Dan Gearino covers the midwestern United States, part of ICNs National Environment Reporting Network. When asked by a Bank of AmericaSecurities analyst on a recent earnings call, NextEra CEO James Robo explained that he orderedFPL CEO Eric Silagy to turn over emails and other written communication, primarily focused onFLs work with two political committees: Grow United and Lets Preserve the AmericanDream, both tied to Simpson. He said that federal rules prohibit the PSC from including political expenses in the rate base and the company did not include these expenses as part of their supporting documentation and concluded that rates are not based upon costs for such prohibited purposes., Baez also defended the PSCs use of sampling as a means of auditing FPLs expenses saying it is common in all disciplines that use large amounts of data.. NextEra Energy owns Florida Power & Light Company, which is America's largest electric utility that sells more power than any other utility, providing clean, affordable, reliable electricity to approximately 5.8 million customer accounts, or more than 12 million . You can reach her at meklas@miamiherald.com and on Twitter @MaryEllenKlas. 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