Robo responded: Sure, Julian, I think you know, on some of the Florida political headlines I think what Id like to say on that is pretty simple., He said that when the company received the report and and those allegations that have been in the press, we conducted a very extensive and thorough investigation that included looking at company financial records and include looking at everyone who was named and its company emails. He said those involved all provided access to their personal emails and texts to us as part of that investigation., He concluded: The bottom line is we found no evidence of any issues at all, any illegality, or any wrongdoing on the part of FPL or any of its employees., Robo added that he felt very good about the investigation that we did, and I feel very good that there is, you know, no basis to any of these allegations. He was previously chief financial officer of NextEra Energy, a partner at Deloitte & Touche and an accounting fellow at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Other stories about the energy transition to take note of this week: Deep in the Democrats Climate Bill, Analysts See More Wins for Clean Energy Than Gifts for Fossil Fuel Business: U.S. Senate leaders have included plenty of favors for the fossil fuel industry in the big climate package they hope to advance this week, but most analysts have concluded these concessions amount to consolation prizes in a deal where clean energy is the clear winner. A lot is riding on NextEra in the race to clean energy. They remained that way until they took a stake in early wind farms in exchange for canceling the debts owed to them. 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. McClure also worked closely with utility front group Energy Fairness, as reported by the Energy and Policy Institute. Crews said last month in a call with analysts that he is confident in the companys long-term plan to continue increasing development of wind, solar and batteries. A look at the changing global population. The raid and arrest came months after Artiles took credit for placing the previously unknown third party candidate, Alex Rodriguez, in the race for Senate District 37, according to a source who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, as reported by Miami Herald last December. A similar sounding utility front group, Energy Fairness, is a client of McNicholas & Associates. 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.. His coverage deals with the business side of the clean-energy transition and he writes ICNs Inside Clean Energy newsletter. Data Targeting is one of the top political consulting firms for the Florida Republican Party. 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. When asked if their companys money was used either for the third party candidates campaign or in payment to Artiles directly, Neil Nissan, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, stated that it was not. The legislators responded on Jan. 10, saying they considered the commissions review incomplete given the news stories. As the biggest player in the game, investors, politicians, and civilians rely on NextEra to play a major role in encouraging and supporting clean energy legislation. In all races, the Republican won the []. Artiles has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The settlement is the end result of a . Energy Fairness played a role in setting up an attack on rooftop solar in 2020, via Florida Representative Lawrence McClure. Learn More 2022 ESG Report TOP 20 in the world for innovation, according to Fortune Now, the Lands Are Being Offered to Solar Companies. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web's top headlines deliver the full story, for free. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. 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You want to measure economic success? 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. Ive been spending time in Williamsport, Ohio, to look at the debate over the solar proposal. 11/30/2021. 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? Since then, theyve become skilled at creating and maintaining wind farms, and today their power reaches far beyond Florida. Almost immediately, FPL reached out to the CEO of Matrix, LLC a political consulting firm. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. The consultant behind Gostons campaign was Patrick Jay Bainter, the owner of a Republican political consulting firm, Data Targeting. Some critics of Florida Power & Light, like Alissa Jean Schafer of watchdog group Energy Policy Institute, have welcomed Pimentel's uneventful background. 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. We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. 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. FPL has said it was not fully aware of what its consultant was doing, and it has cast doubt on some of the reporting. 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 evidenceof illegality or wrongdoing on the part of FPL or any of its employees.. 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. Christopher Sabella elected as Hillsborough Countys next chief judge, Tampa Bay harbor pilots pay raise request stirs storm at Tampas port, Prominent Florida political consultants may face criminal charges in sham candidate case, Get Capitol Buzz, a special bonus edition of The Buzz with Emily L. Mahoney, each Saturday while the Legislature is meeting, Florida Senate sponsor agrees to weaken preemption bill. A team of ICN reporters led by Marianne Lavelle examined the bill and spoke with outside experts to get an idea of its implications. FPLs consultants used similar spoiler candidate tactics in the 2020 election cycle in three senate races throughout the state. Alabama political firm and former NextEra consultant Matrix LLC, led by Joe Perkins, sued Canopy LLC, another firm allegedly working with NextEra. NextEra Energy Newsroom. 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 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. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. Jane Marsh is an environmental and sustainability writer. Alabama political firm and former NextEra consultant Matrix LLC, led by Joe Perkins, sued Canopy LLC, another firm allegedly working with NextEra. It was also announced that Silagy, the president and CEO of FPL, will take on the added responsibility of chairman of FPL. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? Letsgetstarted. Rodriguez has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. 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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 races for Senate District 9 and 39 followed the same pattern. 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. 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 . Canopy was started by former Matrix employees, led by Jeff Pitts. That promise would allow the company to continue . 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 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. An internal NextEra investigation found no wrongdoing, executives on the companys latest earnings call said, adding that Silagys departure was unrelated to any controversies. Siemens Gamesa, a Leading Maker of Wind Turbines, Is Struggling: Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa lowered its financial outlook for 2022 and said it expects to lose money this year and next as it deals with high costs of raw materials and tough competition. Goston claimed he did not know or care where the money supporting his candidacy came from, according to the Gainesville Sun. I wonder if NextEras problems in Florida may eventually affect the perception of the company in other places. Political editor Emily L. Mahoney will send you a rundown on local, state and national politics coverage every Thursday. Inside Climate News uses cookies. To help figure this out, I reached out to David Pomerantz, who makes a living investigating utility companies as executive director of the Energy and Policy Institute, a nonprofit watchdog organization. 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. 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.. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License by Energy and Policy Institute. Artiles faces multiple felony charges in connection to an alleged election scheme that successfully ousted Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez, a long-time climate advocate. One part of that is to convert gas-fired power plants to run on hydrogen. Mexican developer wants to build condos on the land starting at $3 million apiece. It begs the question of who the PSC serves is it Floridians or is it utility companies?. 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. Dan Gearino covers the midwestern United States, part of ICNs National Environment Reporting Network. 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 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. Questions about recent news stories came up during NextEras fourth-quarter earnings call with financial analysts. 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. 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. Were working hard to bring you the latest news from the states legislative session. 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. 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