The settlement is the end result of a . A similar sounding utility front group, Energy Fairness, is a client of McNicholas & Associates. NextEra, also based in Florida, has become a giant by racking up profits from its regulated utility business at FPL and using that as a foundation to build wind, solar and battery projects across the United States and Canada. NextEra Energy Newsroom. Eskamani of Orlando said Baezs response left her unsatisfied. 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. 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. NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript. The other candidate later revealed that he had been bribed to run. ICN provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. If NextEra is to be the model of a sustainable energy giant, it must shed its brown assets. The Orlando Sentinel connected Republican consultant Alex Alvarado to the production and printing of the mailers for the third-party candidates in October. So, thats probably all that were going to say on that today.. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. offered a job that was arranged by consultants for FPL in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to resign from the commission. 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. Please support our work with a digital subscription. "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. 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. The scandal brings light to the measures electric companies will go to in order to protect their profits even those that claim to be in favor of pursuing renewable energy. Date. Entergy, which donated $10,000 to the Party and []. By continuing to use this site, you accept this policy. 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. Gostons campaign was largely funded by Republicans with ties to Perry, as reported by the Gainesville Sun. 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. 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.. 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. 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. (Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Josie Kao). He grew up in Warren County, Iowa, just south of Des Moines, and lives in Columbus, Ohio. Last week, Seaport Global Securities downgraded NextEras stock from buy to neutral, citing concerns about growing media scrutiny of FPLs lobbying practices. But NextEras stock price has risen since then, largely in reaction to Sen. Joe Manchins announcement he is supporting clean energy legislation, which is good news for companies developing wind, solar and batteries. "They probably chose him to be a steady the ship-type figure," said Jack Dearing, an analyst with Washington-based Capstone LLC, which advises investors and companies on policy issues. The consultant behind Gostons campaign was Patrick Jay Bainter, the owner of a Republican political consulting firm, Data Targeting. 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. The Office of Public Counsel, which advocates on behalf of Florida utility customers, also stated that it was a net benefit in that same workshop. The mailers featured similar language that appeared to target progressive voters, pulling from the Democratic candidate, as reported by the Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel. It begs the question of who the PSC serves is it Floridians or is it utility companies?. Dan Gearinos habit-forming weekly take on how to understand the energy transformation reshaping our world. 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. Possible outcomes from this scandal include increased wariness of NextEra from individuals and politicians, which could put the growth of clean energy at risk. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web's top headlines deliver the full story, for free. 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 NextEra's crown jewel utility, analysts say: stay out of the headlines. 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. Artiles faces multiple felony charges in connection to an alleged election scheme that successfully ousted Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez, a long-time climate advocate. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. If trust in NextEra dwindlesand seemingly it has, if stock recommendations are anything to judge bypeople might be less willing to consider the installation of a wind farm in the. Can the PSC provide a complete list of 501(c)4 social welfare organizations that FPL has provided funding to over the past five years? His coverage deals with the business side of the clean-energy transition and he writes ICNs, turning a news website into a mouthpiece for the utility, Seaport Global Securities downgraded NextEras stock, A team of ICN reporters led by Marianne Lavelle examined the bill. (Rooftop solar systems generally last for 25 years or longer.) This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. Alabama political firm and former NextEra consultant Matrix LLC, led by Joe Perkins, sued Canopy LLC, another firm allegedly working with NextEra. The history of scandals by FPL and parent company NextEra ushers in a wave of concern about what the future of clean energy and future sustainability programs could look like. NextEra, also based in Florida, has become a giant by racking up profits from its regulated utility business at FPL and using that as a foundation to build wind, solar and battery projects across. Bradleys political committee, Women Building the Future, has taken $47,500 from investor-owned utilities, with $12,500 coming from NextEra Energy and $35,000 from TECO. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? 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. 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. A lot is riding on NextEra in the race to clean energy. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License by Energy and Policy Institute. NextEra Energy Inc., the largest U.S. utility by market cap and one of the world's top solar and wind power producers, has been called out for never declaring a net-zero emissions target like many other major power utilities have done. Questions about recent news stories came up during NextEras fourth-quarter earnings call with financial analysts. 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. On Wednesday, FPL spokesperson Chris McGrath denied that FPL was involved in the ghost candidate scheme. Some of thislike turning a news website into a mouthpiece for the utility or surveilling a newspaper columnist in the hopes of catching him doing something embarrassingsounds like the stuff of conspiracy theories. Definition & Eligibility, Norwegian Plans Pricing Move That Royal Caribbean, Carnival Might Follow. Before that, he covered politics and business in Iowa and in New Hampshire. Bradley and McClure have both taken tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions from Floridas investor-owned utilities. Rodrguez lost his Senate seat the following year, resulting in Republicans gaining control of the Florida Senate. The flight took place just prior to Artiles push on legislation that would have allowed NextEra to charge its Florida customers for out-of-state exploratory fracking. 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. 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. 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. (Heres the hearing transcript.). 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. Pimentel was CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, the company's unregulated arm focused on renewable power, for eight years before retiring in 2019. FPLs relationship with two political nonprofit committees Grow United and Lets Preserve the American Dream has come under recent scrutiny as part of a criminal investigation by the Miami-Dade County state attorney into a ghost candidate scandal. 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 . Republican state legislators Sen. Jennifer Bradley and Rep. Lawrence McClure have filed identical legislation in the Senate and House that would end the states current net metering policy, which determines the credit that FPL and other utilities must pay to solar customers for excess solar energy that they generate and sell back to the grid. 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. Armando Pimentel, who held executive roles in finance at NextEra for more than a decade before retiring in 2019, is coming . 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. That's a tax rate of just 1.25 percent over that period, when the . AIF has close financial ties to Floridas investor owned utilities, as EPI has documented. According to sources, NextEra subsidiary Florida Power & Light (FPL) funneled millions of dollarto run so-called ghost candidates in Florida state Senate campaigns. He helped build NextEra Energy Resources and seemed to choose his retirement as opposed to being forced out, the former colleague said. Protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply that. Ties to Floridas investor owned utilities, as EPI has documented in an unsuccessful attempt to him... 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