He grew up in Warren County, Iowa, just south of Des Moines, and lives in Columbus, Ohio. 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. 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. Sources contacted were unsure the degree to which Governor DeSantis was aware of the FPLpayments and the alleged illegitimate child. 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Mary Ellen Klas: meklas@miamiherald.com and @MaryEllenKlas. Its hard to predict what the scandal will mean for clean energy in the future or if it will have any effect at all. Florida Power & Light has a monopoly on power in Florida. Since the publication of that article, McClure has taken an additional $8,500 in political contributions from Florida investor-owned utilities; $1,000 from NextEra Energy to his campaign directly, and $7,500 from Duke Energy to McClures political committee, Conservative Florida. All . 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. At NextEra Energy, we're committed to our core values of being committed to excellence, doing the right thing and treating people with respect. 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. SAC 1-2. The Defendant, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC ("NextEra"), is the largest wind energy generator in the world and operates over 100 wind energy facilities nationwide. ICN provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. 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. 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. The arrest warrant for Artiles suggests that money may have illegally exchanged hands, at least in the case of SD37. In November 2021, for example, the company spent $20 million to ban the 145-mile transmission line needed to transport clean energy in Maine. But the company is limited in what it can do to defend itself because of reams of evidence, in leaked emails and texts, showing that company executives were aware of at least some of what was happening. 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. Before that, he covered politics and business in Iowa and in New Hampshire. 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. It depends on how trustworthy community members find NextEra in the coming months and how that support affects any proposed clean energy legislation. Date. Bainter and Data Targeting have been the focus of suspected misdeeds over the years. News images are from video content on CNNs YouTube Channel. 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 response to the stories, FPL has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Entergy, which donated $10,000 to the Party and []. 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. Our #1 newsletter delivers the weeks climate and energy news our original stories and top headlines from around the web. 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. 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.. FPL has said it was not fully aware of what its consultant was doing, and it has cast doubt on some of the reporting. Fargo, ND, USA / The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGO. Pimentel has been a well-known but low-key power industry figure whose familiarity with NextEra suggests he will provide consistent leadership for with NextEras top subsidiary, said Glenrock Associates utility analyst Paul Patterson. The Miami Herald has confirmed that NextEra has been conducting an internal investigationon FPLs involvement in the ghost candidate scheme. 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. Artiles has long-standing close connections with FPL, as previously reported by Energy and Policy Institute in 2020 and 2021. The firm, which also includes consultants Matt Mitchell and Michael Sheehan, came under intense scrutiny for their role in Floridas redistricting and were required to turn in over 1,800 pages of records as part of a lawsuit filed by Fair District voting-rights groups in 2013. 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 . Watch the Florida Legislature live: The Florida Channel, a public affairs programming service funded by the Legislature, livestreams coverage at thefloridachannel.org. In all races, the Republican won the []. Alabama political firm and former NextEra consultant Matrix LLC, led by Joe Perkins, sued Canopy LLC, another firm allegedly working with NextEra. 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. 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 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. 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. 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A digest of the most pressing climate-related news, released every Tuesday and Friday. An early adopter of renewable power generation, NextEra is the third-largest U.S. energy company by market capitalization behind Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N). All three districts received slightly modified versions of the same mailer, which seemed to target liberal-leaning voters in an apparent effort to siphon those votes away from the Democratic candidate. Watchdog exposing the attacks on renewable energy and countering misinformation by fossil fuel interests. In a Jan. 5 letter, they asked the commission to determine whether the company was using ratepayer money for political purposes. A little over a month ago, NextEra Energy and its yieldco affiliate NextEra Energy Partners NEP +2.4% (NEP) raised financial guidance for calendar years . The messy business of being 'green'. 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. The bill outlines a reduction to the credit, which would dramatically limit the number of people who could affordably lease or buy panels. According to sources, NextEra subsidiary Florida Power & Light (FPL) funneled millions of dollarto run so-called ghost candidates in Florida state Senate campaigns. If NextEra is to be the model of a sustainable energy giant, it must shed its brown assets. 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. 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. We got into this program and its not helping like its supposed to, said Quintin Nelms, who has faced a long wait for his rebate. The proposed bill would allow landlords to sell cheap solar panels to their tenants. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? John Ketchum, a 19-year veteran of NextEra Energy, is named president and chief executive officer (CEO), NextEra Energy.He will report directly to the NextEra Energy, Inc. Board of Directors. Your source for the latest news and stories from NextEra Energy and its subsidiaries. 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. 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. 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.. 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. 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. An early adopter of renewable power generation, NextEra is the third-largest U.S. energy company by market capitalization behind Exxon Mobil and Chevron. NextEra Energy is the largest generator of renewable energy in the United States and possibly the world. 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. 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 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. You can reach her at meklas@miamiherald.com and on Twitter @MaryEllenKlas. 10 Takeaways from the IEA's Newest World Energy Outlook. 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. The biggest user of the tax credit is Florida-based NextEra Energy, the nation's eighth-largest power producer. That's a tax rate of just 1.25 percent over that period, when the . Pomerantz said the goal of moving to zero emissions is a very good one, but he questions the feasibility of using hydrogen as a major part of generating electricity. Their power over utilities in Florida was challenged by legislation proposed by the Democratic Senator of Florida, Jos Javier Rodrguez, in 2019. Sign up for Mary Ellens newsletter Politics and Policy in the Sunshine State. Kirk Crews, CFO, NextEra Energy NEE -0.6%. The energy company that runs the Florida Power & Light utility, as. AIF has close financial ties to Floridas investor owned utilities, as EPI has documented. But it will be take more than a change of guard for the utility to shake off the scandals that took place under Silagy, said Schafer. Internal documents obtained by the Sentinel show that Silagy used a pseudonym email, Theodore Hayes, to communicate with consultant Jeff Pitts, who controlled Grow United, with the memos noting that one goal was to minimize all public reporting of entities and activities.. The scandal ballooned last week when three more arrests were made, including of Ben Paris, the chair of the Seminole County (FL) Republican Executive Committee. Pasco park restaurant plans must wait for study of nearby burial mound, Tampa race has 4 candidates, including 2 council veterans, seeking open seat, St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay Rays to discuss these 9 topics about Tropicana Field, Rays Tyler Glasnow sustains oblique injury during practice, Hillsborough must right-size its school system | Editorial. 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