The investigation around Artiles and the Senate District 37 race is ongoing. Description. racial slurs directed at black members of the Florida Legislature. He started by questioning my premise that NextEra has a good reputation while its subsidiary, FPL, has taken some serious hits. 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. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. 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. Alabama political firm and former NextEra consultant Matrix LLC, led by Joe Perkins, sued Canopy LLC, another firm allegedly working with NextEra. The reporting also found that the same FPL consultants have been involved in setting up front groups to advance FPLs political agenda, and paid activists to promote FPLs interests. The company was trading well above its peers before news that Silagy would leave his post this month and depart the company in mid-May. 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. Floridas largest utility has a lot of explaining to do after news organizations revealed some unseemly conduct. History of Power: Dominion Energy's Fluid Transition. All . 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. 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 Some critics of Florida Power & Light, like Alissa Jean Schafer of watchdog group Energy Policy Institute, have welcomed Pimentel's uneventful background. 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). 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 legislators responded on Jan. 10, saying they considered the commissions review incomplete given the news stories. 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. The settlement is the end result of a . The Miami Herald has confirmed that NextEra has been conducting an internal investigationon FPLs involvement in the ghost candidate scheme. 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. 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. 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. I reported this story with Tracy Wholf, coordinating climate producer for ABC News, and we also worked together on a special episode of ABCs podcast Start Here that delves into the nuanced concerns on both sides of the conflict. Its useless at this time because theres nothing out there and the cars that you do find, everythings gone up in price.. In 2017, Artiles ended up in the headlines again over his ceremonial role at a NASCAR event sponsored by NextEra, where he waved the starting flag in a NextEra branded jacket, pictures of which he posted on his Facebook page. Court documents obtained by the Miami Herald, as part of the state attorneys investigation, have shown that as part of the ghost candidate scheme Lets Preserve the American Dream paid former state Sen. Frank Artiles $125,000 for research and paid Grow United $1.15 million. 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. 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. 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. Sources contacted were unsure the degree to which Governor DeSantis was aware of the FPLpayments and the alleged illegitimate child. For example, Richard Alexander, who lives in Cullman, Ala., and 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. JUNO BEACH, Fla. - FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE:FPL) today announced a settlement, subject to court approval, of derivative litigation filed by certain shareholders in the name of the company regarding change-of-control payments made in December 2000 in conjunction with the proposed Entergy merger that was approved by shareholders but not consummated.. Numerous studies have shown that rooftop solar provides a net-benefit to other, non-solar customers. Clarification: This story was updated on January 27, 2022, to reflect that the Jacksonville job was arranged by consultants for FPL, not directly by the company. 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. NextEra Energy is on the receiving end of a proposed class action lawsuit in which a Nebraska homeowner alleges the electricity provider's wind turbines placed near residential communities are a "nuisance" and effectively deprive homeowners of the use and enjoyment of their property. New Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales staff nearly set. Mary Ellen Klas is the state Capitol bureau chief for the Miami Herald, where she covers government and politics and focuses on investigative and accountability reporting. Last month, I attended a public hearing for a NextEra solar proposal in central Ohio, and I saw how several backers of the project talked about the companys involvement as a good thing. 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. 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. Recent revelations about Florida Power & Lights involvement in a dark money scheme to siphon votes away from Senate Democratic candidates prompted its parent company to conduct an internal investigation, NextEra announced at an earnings call on Tuesday. 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 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. NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript. We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. On Tuesday, it became clear that Wall Street had noticed the stories. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. In this first story in a series, I look at how the plan has divided the community and strained relationships between longtime friends and neighbors. TALLAHASSEE Recent revelations about Florida Power & Lights involvement in a dark money scheme to siphon votes away from Senate Democratic candidates prompted its parent company to conduct an internal investigation, NextEra announced at an earnings call Tuesday. Enforcement for funneling money through a partisan political committee to a ghost candidatescheme that has already resulted in felony charges against five political operatives. FPLs consultants used similar spoiler candidate tactics in the 2020 election cycle in three senate races throughout the state. 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. Dan Gearinos habit-forming weekly take on how to understand the energy transformation reshaping our world. 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. 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. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the webs top headlines deliver the full story, for free. 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. 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. 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. I believe that NextEra is a respectable developer, said Jeremy Welch, testifying at the hearing on behalf of a union that supports the project. 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. Canopy was started by former Matrix employees, led by Jeff Pitts. 7,400 gallons of wastewater spilled into Johns Pass. Possible outcomes from this scandal include increased wariness of NextEra from individuals and politicians, which could put the growth of clean energy at risk. 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 companys political giving. FPL engaged with dark money political committees to keep their profits safe in the wake of proposed legislation. Artiles has long-standing close connections with FPL, as previously reported by Energy and Policy Institute in 2020 and 2021. That scheme included over half a million dollars spent on political mailers promoting the spoiler candidates. Canopy was started by former Matrix employees, led by Jeff Pitts. NextEra, TECO, and AIF did not respond to a request for comment. 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. Since then, theyve become skilled at creating and maintaining wind farms, and today their power reaches far beyond Florida. 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. They probably chose him to be a steady the ship-type figure, said Jack Dearing, an analyst withWashington-based Capstone LLC, which advises investors and companies on policy issues. An abandoned shovel is to blame. Though the Florida Power & Light scandal is one of the more recent topics bringing NextEra to the forefront of public attention, the company is certainly no stranger to controversy. 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 . "I don't think you're going to see any headlines like that (with Pimentel).". In a Jan. 5 letter, they asked the commission to determine whether the company was using ratepayer money for political purposes. 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. Attack on Rooftop Solar 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. "Even if you put somebody who is a perfectly fine individual with a financial background and doesn't have this aggressive history it doesn't necessarily make up for the fact of all that did happen in very recent history," Schafer said. Ramba and his connections to FPL were criticized in 2017 when Artiles traveled on a plane, owned by Ramba, accompanied by John Holley, the director of state legislative affairs for FPL and a former lobbyist with Rambas firm, as reported by the Miami Herald. ICN provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. 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. If NextEra is to be the model of a sustainable energy giant, it must shed its brown assets. A look at the changing global population. A lot will depend on how FPL conducts itself moving forward. 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. The company was implicated in a ghost candidate scheme in Florida that ousted a climate advocate from state office. The legislators responded on Jan. 10, saying they considered the PSCs review incomplete given the news stories. The no-party candidate, Alexis Alex Rodriguez, who did not campaign, received more than 6,000 votes. Energy Fairness also fought an energy choice ballot initiative in Florida in 2016 and one of the consultants it hired, FTIs Matthew DeCourcey, wrote on his resume that Energy Fairness was representing the interests of regulated utilities.. The company was implicated in a ghost candidate scheme depend on how FPL conducts itself moving forward used. Political operatives the company was trading well above its peers before news that would... Fluid Transition digest of the FPLpayments and the Senate District 37 race is ongoing subsidiary,,... Matrix employees, led by Jeff Pitts taken some serious hits finance professionals, they... 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