Meanwhile, Matrix-led non-profits funded a blizzard of ads against Stoddard, accusing him of using public money for vendettas and placing him alongside infamous sex offenders Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein. Florida Power & Light is pushing for it as Florida's biggest utility it has 5.5 million customers, about 65 percent of the state. Download the FPL Mobile App Now In the Northeast corner of the state, a young, first-termRepublican mayor in Jacksonville was eager to solicit proposals to privatize city services none more enticing than the city's century-old municipal utility, JEA, one of the largest public electric, water and sewer utilities in the United States and a prize FPL had long sought. The proposed bill would allow landlords to sell cheap solar panels to their tenants. Records show FPL trusted Matrix operatives with millions, including giving $14m to a single Matrix-run nonprofit in 2018 alone. These email records were provided to the Times/Herald and Floodlight by the Energy & Policy Institute, a watchdog organization that works to counter misinformation about renewable energy. In 2020,the plant generated 19.7 million megawatt hours of energy and had an emissions rate of 371.3 kilograms of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour. Header Image Credit: YouTube, 10 Tampa Bay. A short-lived organization called "Fix JEA Now" registered a web domain in 2017 and began making dramatic claims about the city-owned utility. The Governor also has veto power over legislation that Floridas GOP-majority legislature passes. I just wanted to check in and see if you had any follow up information or language in regards to the net metering bill you discussed with Senator Bradley., Holley replied eight minutes later: I do. Alabama Power still hasnt had a rate case. A dark money group associated with Matrix LLC mailed attack ads against South Miami mayor Philip Stoddard to area residents. Net metering is a popular program that gives people the right to choose the energy that works for them, provides benefits to all ratepayers and creates thousands of energy jobs across Florida.. Switching from oil or coal to natural gas is a very important step, but thats not enough, she said, adding that carbon capture, utilization and storage technology must be considerationsto further reduce emissions. The company says the move was not prompted by recent scandals. Butone thing the leaked Matrix records make clear isthat more secrets remain on the firm's hard drive. Still, there could be some benefit for consumers to be cognizant of a plants overall emissions, if its not the only factor being considered, she said. Emails show that Bradleys staff followed up with Florida Power & Light after that discussion. "We contributeto organizations where we're aligned on what the ultimate goal is, and from the standpoint of having the Senate at the time, who was being led by (Senate President) Wilton Simpson, continue to be able to be led by Wilton Simpson,I was a fan of that," FPL CEO Eric Silagy, recently told me and several other journalists with the Times-Union, Orlando Sentinel and Floodlight in a wide-ranging interview in Jacksonville. Florida Power & Light, one of the largest utilities in the country, abruptly announced the retirement of its chief executive after a tenure marked by strong financial returns, moves toward greener energy and multiple scandals. At the start of Monday's earnings call, Ketchum, the chief executive officer of NextEra, addressed media reports and the federal election grievance head-on. Florida Power & Light, whose work with dark-money political committees helped to secure Republican control of the state Senate in the 2020 elections, asked state Sen. Jennifer Bradley to sponsor its top-priority bill: legislation that would hobble rooftop solar by preventing homeowners and businesses from offsetting their costs by selling excess power back to the company, an arrangement known as net metering. Florida Power & Light has also invested millions into groups with untraceable, anonymous donors that launched attacks on state and local politicians. Rooftop solar, while critical to fighting climate change, is a threat to the traditional utility business model. That is a fairly energy-intensive process in and of itself. Florida Power & Light customers who paid $101.70 last year for a typical monthly bill of 1,000 . I think they are doing their part. The email was forwarded on to Silagy,though there is no indication the company seriously entertained Burgess' idea. "When you think about all the challenges that he had to overcome, with the hurricanes and high natural gas prices and inflation and supply chain and, you know, the media allegations and all those things, I think it took a toll on Eric that year," Ketchum said during a question-and-answer session on the call. It ranks third among states for installed solar capacity, although much of that is large-scale, utility-owned solar. At the Birmingham office where Pitts and the others had worked, Perkins said he found a backup server that appeared to have been beaten with something. Months after he was elected, Beeker voted in favor of an energy price hike for consumers. FPLs business-as-usual political contributions have continued amid intense media focus on its role in ongoing dark money election scandals and related criminal trials, with state lawmakers and a member of Congress calling for further investigation into FPLs involvement. The company conducted an internal investigation and "found no evidence of any issues at all, any illegality or any wrongdoing on the part of FPL or any of its employees. Under the leadership of Eric Silagy, 54, the company has been tied to allegations of campaign finance violations, media manipulation, and the surveillance of critical journalists. That gave Matrix consultants and FPL executives input on Capitolist stories. Still,plants with high emissions are going to draw attention in the overall effort to cut down ongreenhouse gas, experts say. nears the finish line on new track at Freedom Field, Amazon's Daisy Jones & the Six Is the Latest in a Long Line of Embarrassing Portraits of Musical Genius. While the report contemplates the impact of fracking and transporting natural gas, it is not quantified. Just in December, the Public Service Commission approved a request from FPL to recover costs from customers due to a 10% increase in natural gas prices. 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. We took a 1960s-gas guzzling Cadillac and we replaced it with a Ford Focus hybrid, McGrath said. He added thatcarbon dioxide is emitted from burning natural gas, which isa fossil fuel, andis being created whether theyre scrubbing or storing it.. And the job was to come with one key hitch: To accept it, Dennis would have to leave his council position. Matrix was never accused of wrongdoing. In other words, FPL's gas-fired plant produced almost 20% more power but with a third of the emissions as the coal-powered plant. You gotta bow down and kiss the ring.. After more than a decade leading Florida Power & Light (FPL), the state's largest power company, Eric Silagy is retiring. We are consistently one of the cleanest electric utilities in the country, FPL spokesman Chris McGrath said. "We're not making a connection," said John Ketchum, CEO of NextEra Energy. Crist has also criticized FPL on the campaign trail, calling the utility out for raising its rates on Floridians and criticizing FPL for attempting to block clean energy with anti-solar legislation. . She said the support she got from other teams was 'overwhelming. Inat least one case, they had this Times-Union columnist surveilled, according to the secret records. ', Death toll keeps rising in Greece's deadliest train crash, Westown Association announces Milwaukee Night Market dates, Embrace the everyday in UNIQLO's viral wide pants, FlyDubai announces record profit as Gulf air travel booms, Southeast's S.P.A.C.E. them with making Rodrguez's life "a living hell.". She likened it to comparing emissions from a personal car used once a week and a city bus that takes many trips. Hannah Morse covers consumer issues for The Palm Beach Post. Map showing route taken by Matrix LLC to oust Jose Javier Rodriguez from office. That month, FPL announced a planned purchase ofGulf Power, expanding its reach for the first time into the Florida Panhandle, and in the process snatching away a lucrative asset from regional rival Southern Company, which had owned Gulf since 1925. Bradley said the bill language emerged after a meeting she had with Holley and other members of the utility industry. Two decades ago, the company was using more than40 million barrels of oil, the most of any electric utility, McGrath said. The warm light races across a 600-mile expanse of land and coast before finally brightening the Perdido River in Escambia County on Florida's western border. Once he left, Pitts said Perkins smeared him to clients in an attempt to extort millions. Please provide us with the Personal Identification Number (PIN) that you were given for a co-browse session with our representative. Its a tough, and expensive, goal to achieve, Patino-Echeverri said. Former FPL senior executive Armando Pimentel was named as Silagy's replacement. It backed a failed ballot amendment in 2016 that would have allowed regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar installation. A Democratic state senator was proposing a law that could cut into Florida Power & Lights (FPL) profits. One of Matrixs oldest clients is Alabama Power, which employed Perkins personal consulting firm as early as 1999. But Florida Power & Light is arguing rooftop solar could cost Florida utilities about $700 million between 2019 and 2025, according to documents submitted to the Florida Public Service Commission. (Neither Alabama Power nor its corporate parent, Southern Company, have commented on those disclosures.). The largest city served by the supplier is Jacksonville, but the company also provides electricity to 243 cities in Florida. He is a former federal prosecutor with experience in public corruption cases.. "JEA is broken," the group boasted on its website, where it posted Times-Union coverage of the utility's involvement in an over-budget, behind-schedule nuclear project in Georgia. Southern Company and Alabama Power run the state of Alabama, Dunn said. An organization that acts like a mafia should be treated like one, Stoddard said.In a statement, Newman acknowledged managing the campaign against Stoddard and hiring a private investigator to look into the former mayors personal life. FPLs CEO Silagy in a recent interview denied knowing about or participating in the scheme against Rodrguez but said that Matrix had done good work for his company. The solar industry companies that make, sell, install, lease and maintain rooftop solar equipment is fighting back fiercely, suggesting that the bill will devastate its business. Hannah Morse covers consumer issues for The Palm Beach Post. President and CEO of Florida Power & Light Eric Silagy speaks to the media after FPL imploded its last Florida . Perkins and Pitts sued each other, with Pitts claiming his former mentor had never followed through on handing over the company despite years of discussions. A Birmingham mayor who employed Matrix got 15 years for bribery, conspiracy and fraud. Terry Dunn wanted to examine why Alabama Power charged some of the highest rates in the country. Artiles has been connected to Florida utilities, including NextEra and its subsidiary Florida Power and Light (FPL), for years. The company provided The Palm Beach Post with 2019 data on emissions and energy production at power plants, including its own, which was in line with the source of the 2020 data used by Find Energy. Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy announced his retirement on Wednesday. The regulated monopoly is generally seen as a safe, stable investment, but there is some sign the recent public scrutiny could mushroom into a larger problem for FPL. With two months until voters elect the next Florida Governor, NextEra Energy and its subsidiaries, Florida Power & Light and Florida City Gas, have poured nearly $6 million into state level campaign funds and political committees. According to FPL, the plant also has the best available and most advanced emission-control equipment.. Pimentel will rejoin the company on Feb. 15 and work with Silagy until his departure. The bill is just one front in a decade-long battle against the policy. We're making smart, long-term investments to stabilize energy costs, lower carbon emissions, and make Florida energy independent. The Matrix saga illustrates the political obstacles policymakers and experts face as they attempt to cut climate pollution from the power sector, one of the biggest greenhouse gas contributors in the US. The records show that entities controlled by the former Matrix employees, and associated in an internal ledger with FPL, financially backed an intermediary who had arrived in Jacksonville to help set up Fix JEA Now. NextEras CEO called net-zero emission targets disingenuous without plans to get to real zero, according to reports. The money was allegedly funneled through a network of tax-exempt nonprofits that obscured its origin. Here is why and how much, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. In one instance, leaked emails revealed Silagy even successfully suggested specific news coverage to one publication. The sex worker later testified the allegations were untrue, and that she had been paid by a Birmingham businessman to make them. In the remarkably successful years of its ambitious expansionism, secret records show FPL may have also been sowing the seeds of its more uncertain present. The CEO of the biggest power company in the US had a problem. They proposed offering a job to Garrett Dennis, a member of the Jacksonville City Council who had been outspoken against selling JEA. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik reported this story with Mario Ariza of Floodlight, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action. We may need some portion of our energy to still come from fossil fuels, because there are industrial processes that are hard to electrify, she said. In each of those cases, Matrix was working against politicians or policies fighting to curb the climate crisis by encouraging renewable power. "And we support organizations who had that mission.". This legislation allowed for Kelly to be replaced with a former utility lobbyist, Richard Gentry. As such, it would seem the FPL plantsinclusion on the list is unfair. FPL bristled at the inclusion of its power plantson the list bythe website Find Energy, which aggregates and analyzes finalized government data on electricity companies. Yet great amounts of power come at a price. Silagy's departure follows more than a year's worth of news investigations into his and FPL's connections to a "ghost candidate" scandal that saw unserious political candidates run in state senate races to siphon votes away from certain politicians. He added that the net metering law has not been updated in 13 years and now is time to discuss it. Here is why and how much. Three people were federally convicted for their role in the ploy. Meanwhile, groups aligned with the utility falsely tied Dunn to the Obama administrations efforts to reduce the use of coal. Indeed, Find Energy also named NextEra Energy, FPLs parent company, as one of the top renewable energy producers in the country, with another one of its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy Resources, running solar and wind projects across the country. Untrue, and that she had been paid by a Birmingham businessman to them! 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