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. You always have to keep in mind what matters most is the rate (of efficiency).. (Neither Alabama Power nor its corporate parent, Southern Company, have commented on those disclosures.). Theres no time and its urgent, she said. But FPL was fixated on JEA; buying it would lock Florida's entire East Coast into FPL's service territory, another bold expansion of FPL's power. Skeptics of that plan notably included the Office of Public Counsel, thewatchdog group that represents consumers before the Public Service Commission butwas thought to have been more friendly to utility interests after the installation of a longtime industry lobbyist in 2021. 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 West County Energy Centeruses three combined-cycle generating units thatburnnatural gas in a turbine much like a jet engine and in turn usesthat exhaust to make a second power source of steam. Under the scheme, a candidate with no political background was on the ballot as a no-party option in an effort to confuse voters and dilute support for the Democrat in the race, helping Republicans maintain their majority in the state Senate. $2.75 million in tax breaks on speculative green hydrogen, tens of billions of dollars for burying lines, 2018 state senate race in Gainesville, FL, secured a deal to freeze FPL rates in 2005 as Attorney General, opposed FPLs $1.3 billion rate increase in 2009, calling the utility out for raising its rates on Floridians, largest donation FPL had ever made at the time, Utility front groups spending on disinformation advertising. Bradley filed the bill in November. ', 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. She also was a corporate operative. I am concerned that it will result in significant costs here, but I also dont want to destroy the rooftop solar industry in Florida.. Southern Company and Alabama Power run the state of Alabama, Dunn said. Inat least one case, they had this Times-Union columnist surveilled, according to the secret records. 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. We're advancing solar energy in Florida and you can too with our solar programs. You gotta bow down and kiss the ring.. Its unfortunate that our process allows for something like this to exist without accountability.. Butone thing the leaked Matrix records make clear isthat more secrets remain on the firm's hard drive. FPL did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. In all, the centerproduces enough electricity for 750,000 homes and businesses. F lorida Power & Light is an investor owned company. But Shober saida missed opportunity is not factoring in methane emissions associated with the leaking of natural gas, from the production of the fuel to its use. Any report or suggestion that we had involvement in, financially supported or directed others to support any ghost candidates during the 2020 election cycle is patently false, and we have found absolutely no evidence of any legal wrongdoing by FPL or its employees, McGrath, the Florida Power & Light spokesperson said in response to questions for this story. The effort to privatize Jacksonville's utility imploded in scandal and recrimination, prompting a two-year federal investigation that resulted in criminal charges against JEA's former CEO and CFO. They work off intimidating. Going through those tens of thousands ofrecords, he said, alerted him to the extent of work Pitts performed without his knowledge. According to reporting by the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Power & Light executives have been tied to a series of dark-money nonprofits, one of which figures prominently in the Miami-Dade state attorneys investigation into a scandal involving a ghost Senate candidate. From the beginning, Matrix showed no aversion to unsavory political tactics. Records obtained by the Sentinel also show overlap between Grow United and previous campaigns to overhaul net metering. So Florida Power & Light did something about it. See How. "It's a 24-hour day job. And a former regional administrator for the EPA who did business with Pitts pleaded guilty to violating state ethics law multiple times. Taken together, the internal Matrix records depict a group of well-resourced executives and their enablers who have nurtured twisted views of theFirst Amendment and American democracy, and who have little hesitation over going to remarkable and troubling lengths to achieve their goals. Landlords would be able to. Two decades ago, the company was using more than40 million barrels of oil, the most of any electric utility, McGrath said. In each of those cases, Matrix was working against politicians or policies fighting to curb the climate crisis by encouraging renewable power. Join the New Times community and help support The utility company also contributes to many Democrats and to the Florida Democratic Party. Map showing route taken by Matrix LLC to oust Jose Javier Rodriguez from office. Ricardo Rossello,. Perkins has repeatedly denied leaking records, though he has verified the authenticity of numerous records underlying recent stories by the Times-Union, Orlando Sentinel and Floodlight, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. Big power companies operate as monopolies with captive customers in much of the south-east US. Customers who are already using rooftop solar power before 2023 would be grandfathered in and keep their previous compensation rates for 10 years. Matrix employees had a Jacksonville journalist spied on after he wrote critically about FPL. Nate Monroe is a metro columnist whose work regularly appears every Thursday and Sunday. NextEras CEO called net-zero emission targets disingenuous without plans to get to real zero, according to reports. Months after he was elected, Beeker voted in favor of an energy price hike for consumers. He noted that there is never a "perfect time" to leave. one of the largest contributors to legislative Florida political campaigns, would have allowed regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar installation. Can I bring it to you all later today? he wrote. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Before the prospect of JEA had even been formally proposed, Matrix employees were planting seeds intended to underminepublic confidence in the Jacksonville agency, potentially as early as 2017. FPL has echoed Pitts' allegations and called into question the veracity of some of the leaked records, although it has repeatedly refused to provide evidence the documents have been altered in any way. Landlords would be able to sell cheap rooftop solar power directly to their tenants bypassing FPL and its monopoly on electricity. As for Silagy's departure, Ketchum said, "It's a little earlier than Eric would've wanted to do it.". "We're not making a connection" between the reports and Silagy's retirement, NextEra CEO John Ketchum said on the earnings call. He added that the net metering law has not been updated in 13 years and now is time to discuss it. And for that reason money spent in the present is almost always justified by the potential future: An election cycle might cost an investor-owned utility millions to meaningfully influence, but failing to do so could cost billions later. Burning natural gas results in about half of the carbon dioxide emissions of burning coal, which also releases harmful metals and gases into the environment. 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. That decision catapulted the growth of small-scale solar capacity in the state. Florida Power & Light says the cost of subsidizing its 24,000 net-metering customers was $30 million in 2020 (about $1,250 per customer). A state board recently rebuffed a request from several Democratic lawmakers for an audit of Florida Power & Light's finances, which the representatives sought following reports linking the . But wherever the pair went, indictments often followed. The last year of Silagy's leadership was marked by high natural gas prices; the global supply chain crisis; two disastrous hurricanes; and a barrage of damning media reports. I feel rooftop solar is beneficial to the environment, and Floridians. The team decided an effort to repeal the ordinance would probably fail. Another factor is promoting energy efficiency at the consumer level, Shober said. 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. Former FPL senior executive Armando Pimentel was named as Silagy's replacement. [But] now we have this incredible corruption and a reversal of that because they are using their advantage to hang on to power and undermine democracy, he said. While Matrix operatives quietly pulled strings for FPL, strife within their own firm boiled over. Ron DeSantis, approved FPLs rate hike, raising Floridians monthly bills by over $1.5 billion in the next few years with annual increases through 2025, while increasing FPLs profits. The bill is just one front in a decade-long battle against the policy. The charity was a front established by a state representative. President and CEO of Florida Power & Light Eric Silagy speaks to the media after FPL imploded its last Florida . About a decade ago, FPL made the fateful decision to hire Matrix LLC, an Alabama-based political consulting firm notorious in its home state but with little public profile in Florida. Investigative reporters have directly connected senior FPL executives, including CEO Eric Silagy, to consultants involved in the dark money campaign schemes. While the transition to natural gas has reduced emissions that would otherwise come from oil or gas, and installing utility-scale solar is an important step, getting to zero emissions takes a lot more than that, she said. In 2015, Matrix distributed fliers for a suspicious charity in a predominantly Black neighborhood in North Birmingham. ", FPL lauds its reliability and maintains it has the lowest electricity rates in the country. In 2018, Perkins Communications received at least $1.49m from Alabama Power, a leaked contract shows. That growth has the utilities, and legislators, worried. The state senator went on to lose re-election by six votes. We need to have the debate, he said. According to FPL, the plant also has the best available and most advanced emission-control equipment.. 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