The legislators responded on Jan. 10, saying they considered the commissions review incomplete given the news stories. Who will build the $6 billion road and bridge projects underway in Tampa Bay? 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. He grew up in Warren County, Iowa, just south of Des Moines, and lives in Columbus, Ohio. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The Defendant, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC ("NextEra"), is the largest wind energy generator in the world and operates over 100 wind energy facilities nationwide. It begs the question of who the PSC serves is it Floridians or is it utility companies?. The second group, Mothers for Moderation, a DC-based 501(c)(4) dark-money group with over $15 million in revenue, states that its mission is to advocate for policies that benefit women, according to its 2018 IRS filings. Dan Gearinos habit-forming weekly take on how to understand the energy transformation reshaping our world. 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. A day later, Public Service Commission chairperson Andrew Fay responded with an unequivocal rejection of their request, saying that the commission has a long-standing prohibition on the inclusion of lobbying and other expenses, which have been determined to bring no benefit to ratepayers, among the expenses to be recovered through rates charged to the public for service., Fay added that when FPL filed its rate request, the appropriate auditing function was conducted during the commissions consideration of the most recent FPL rate case, and the audit produced no evidence that FPL used, or was intending to use, ratepayer funds for the private benefit of the companys lobbying, campaigning or marketing affairs.. On Monday, PSC Executive Director Braulio Baez responded that its not the PSCs job to answer those questions and suggested that the questionable expenses come from shareholder funds, not ratepayers. All . That promise would allow the company to continue . Consumers for Energy Fairness does not have a website or any public presence, but it spent over $5,000 with the public affairs firm McNicholas & Associates on beverages and food in 2019. Gostons campaign was largely funded by Republicans with ties to Perry, as reported by the Gainesville Sun. 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. The legislators responded on Jan. 10, saying they considered the PSCs review incomplete given the news stories. The settlement is the end result of a . See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. FPL spokespeople denied that FPL had any role in the spoiler candidate scheme in a comment to the Sentinel. 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. Political editor Emily L. Mahoney will send you a rundown on local, state and national politics coverage every Thursday. 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. 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. Since then, the legislature replaced the previous leader of that office, J.R. Kelly, with a former utility lobbyist, Richard Gentry. 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. ESI Energy LLC, Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Nextera Energy Resources LLC, Is Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to Killing and Wounding Eagles in Its Wind Energy Operations, in Violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act | USAO-EDCA | Department of Justice Share Department of Justice U.S. Attorney's Office Eastern District of California Date. Other utilities have tried similar strategies, but none have done it on the scale of NextEra. Banter reportedly followed Simpsons orders, using the FPL-originated funds to pay FrankArtiles, a lobbyist who was indicted in the scheme last year. For example, Richard Alexander, who lives in Cullman, Alabama, 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. Please support our work with a digital subscription. 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. Rodrguez lost his Senate seat the following year, resulting in Republicans gaining control of the Florida Senate. We know about FPLs actions thanks to reporting by the Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald and The Florida Times-Union, some of it in partnership with the nonprofit Floodlight. I know theres been a lot of back and forth and perhaps theres a lot of context to provide there. Dumoulin-Smith is director of U.S. Power, Utilities and Alternative Energy Equity Research for Bank of American Securities. Its not clear yet whether law enforcement officials are investigating FPL or its executives for their involvement in the ghost candidate scheme, though the scandal has already resulted in criminal charges for some of its parties. The Florida Legislative Session begins January 11, 2022. The Miami Herald and others reported claims that company executives worked with a consultant to derail certain state senate candidates and surveil a journalist who wrote critically about the regulated utility. He pointed to some of NextEras conduct outside of Florida, like its opposition to a power line in Maine that would have delivered renewable energy from Canada and harmed the market for a nuclear plant co-owned by the company. Since the arrest of former Florida Senator Frank Artiles on March 18, political journalists, investigators, and elected office-holders in the state have increasingly been asking one question: Who provided the funds for the scheme Artiles engineered? FPL engaged with dark money political committees to keep their profits safe in the wake of proposed legislation. Since 2020, Florida-based news organizations have reported about FP&Ls role in questionable political and campaign finance-related activity. Watch the Florida Legislature live: The Florida Channel, a public affairs programming service funded by the Legislature, livestreams coverage at thefloridachannel.org. This story was originally published January 27, 2022, 6:00 AM. The documents also showed that Silagy coordinated with the political consultants to steer campaign contributions made through nonprofits in past elections. Sources explain that inthe scheme, Senate President Wilton Simpson, a Republican endorsed by both PresidentDonald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis, received FL contributions through the FloridaRepublican Senatorial Campaign Committee (FRSCC). Armando Pimentel, who held executive roles in finance at NextEra for more than a decade before retiring in 2019, is coming back in what investors hope will mark the end of FP&L's era of political and campaign-finance scandals. The nonprofit committees were set up by political consultants working for FPL, who had consulted with Silagy, according to reporting by the Orlando Sentinel, the Miami Herald and the Florida Times-Union. Alabama political firm and former NextEra consultant Matrix LLC, led by Joe Perkins, sued Canopy LLC, another firm allegedly working with NextEra. Canopy quickly filed its own lawsuit against Matrix. 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. Possible outcomes from this scandal include increased wariness of NextEra from individuals and politicians, which could put the growth of clean energy at risk. At NextEras fourth-quarter earnings call with financial analysts, Julien Patrick Dumoulin-Smith of Bank of America Securities asked Robo if he could share around some of the headlines pertaining to FPL here? If NextEra is to be the model of a sustainable energy giant, it must shed its brown assets. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. Despite climate action often being frustrated by Republican leaders in Congress and at the local level, states with Republican governors and a majority of Republican state legislators are leading the nation in solar and wind. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Armando Pimentel, who held executive roles in finance at NextEra for more than a decade before retiring in 2019, is coming back in what investors hope will mark the end of FP&Ls era of political and campaign-finance scandals. 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 mailers attacking the Democratic candidate, all paid for by new, out-of-state political committees. According to sources, NextEra subsidiary Florida Power & Light (FPL) funneled millions of dollarto run so-called ghost candidates in Florida state Senate campaigns. 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. 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 consultant behind Gostons campaign was Patrick Jay Bainter, the owner of a Republican political consulting firm, Data Targeting. I dont expect much of a change, leaving aside all of the stuff going on with the outgoing CEO, Patterson said. FPL has also donated $20,000 to Perrys political committee, Building a Prosperous Florida, while TECO has donated $2,500. 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. A major new transmission line intended to pipe carbon-free hydropower from Canada into the U.S. Northeast has met a powerful opponent: the world's largest provider of renewable energy. Bradleys political committee, Women Building the Future, has taken $47,500 from investor-owned utilities, with $12,500 coming from NextEra Energy and $35,000 from TECO. NEW YORK(Reuters) The new head of Florida Power & Light (FP&L) has at least one important objective above and beyond running U.S. power giant NextEras crown jewel utility, analysts say: stay out of the headlines. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Im eager to see whats yet to come, and whether it leads to changes in the way FPL does business. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Matrix spent big money on advertising for another candidate with the same last name as Rodrguez to split the vote. With the Florida state senate hanging in the balance in the 2020 election, a network of dark-money groups engineered a brazen scheme to siphon votes from Democrats to third-party ghost candidates in three of Floridas legislative elections, all of which were won by Republicans, two by razor-thin margins. On Tuesday, it became clear that Wall Street had noticed the stories. Artiles has long-standing close connections with FPL, as previously reported by Energy and Policy Institute in 2020 and 2021. But nobody brought up FPLs alleged skulduggery during the hearing. They cited utilities expert Karl Rabagos testimony in the rate case, in which he noted that FPL spent millions of dollars in dues paid to certain politically active trade associations and cited the commissions own documents in the rate case. The second Defendant, Cottonwood Wind . Letsgetstarted. Get a daily email of our original, groundbreaking stories written by our national network of award-winning reporters. Were working hard to bring you the latest news from the states legislative session. Dont miss a beat. 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. NextEra, TECO, and AIF did not respond to a request for comment. Definition & Eligibility, Norwegian Plans Pricing Move That Royal Caribbean, Carnival Might Follow. We have welcomed Armando Pimentel back to our company and have confidence that he will use his deep industry and company experience to further strengthen the FPL organization, NextEra Energy spokesperson David Reuter said. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Ive been spending time in Williamsport, Ohio, to look at the debate over the solar proposal. Republican Ileana Garcia won the election by 32 votes. Theres a recipe in triumph and tragedy, Company run out of a Brooklyn walk-up shorted Florida produce packers $159,000 in pay, What Is Chapter 13 Bankruptcy? NextEra Energy sets industry-leading Real Zero goal to eliminate carbon emissions from its operations, leverage low-cost renewables to drive energy affordability for customers. Heres the details, Miami Beach wants this nightclub to stop liquor sales at 2 a.m. According to reporting from the Orlando Sentinel, a broad criminal investigation is underway in Miami, with felony charges against former Senator Frank Artiles, and the spoiler candidate in District 37 has pled guilty. 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. In the race for Perrys seat in 2018, an organization called Broken Promises donated over $130,000 to the political committee Friends of Charles Goston.. 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. The company was implicated in aghost candidate scheme in Floridathat ousted a climate advocate from state office. 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 . By continuing to use this site, you accept this policy. FPLs response as well as the statements provided for the docket by the staff involved in the rate case audit, leave many questions and concerns for our constituents and Floridians at large, the legislators wrote. His Senate seat the following year, resulting in Republicans gaining control of the Florida Legislature live: the Channel... 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