Recent reporting has raised significant questions around the potential of ratepayer funds being used to undermine democracy
Orlando, FL — Today four State House Democrats have signed onto a letter requesting that the Public Service Commission (PSC) immediately begin an in-depth and thorough audit of Florida Power & Light (FPL). Read the full letter here.
Last year, Floridians watched a series of scandals unfold in their local newspapers, stemming from three “spoiler candidates” who ran in the 2020 election cycle to deceive voters, undermine democracy, and siphon away votes from Democratic candidates running in those same seats.
At the time, nobody knew where the money for these fake candidates came from. The only donor was a brand new political nonprofit called “Grow United” — but according to reporting by both the Orlando Sentinel and Times-Union, “Grow United” was a front group set up by political consultants working for FPL.
Those same FPL consultants have set up similar front groups and FPL has given millions of dollars to those groups, which then pass the money around in an apparent effort to hide the fact that FPL is behind it. The CEO of FPL even used a pseudonym email account under the fake name of “Theodore Hayes” to communicate with these consultants about how to hide money.
FPL (whose parent company is NextEra) is the state’s largest investor owned utility company and this recent reporting is only the tip of the iceberg but it 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.
We are requesting that the PSC immediately begin an in-depth and thorough audit of FPL’s expenditures to determine whether ratepayer money was used, directly or indirectly, to finance any of the political influence schemes that the Orlando Sentinel and Times-Union have outlined.
“As lawmakers, we agree that the PSC’s mission “to facilitate the efficient provision of safe and reliable utility services at fair prices” is critical to the people of Florida,” said Representative Anna V. Eskamani. “While FPL bills are going up, along with many other costs, as constituents continue to feel the financial impacts of COVID-19 and economic hardships, FPL’s apparent intentional lack of transparency, along with potential corporate and political corruption has raised serious concerns around the state. We’re asking that the PSC do their job to protect Floridians from unjustified cost increases due to unethical corporate behavior from our regulated monopolies.”
Over 11 million Floridians are captive customers, with no choice but to pay FPL every month. Their utility bills are going up too, and it is imperative for these lawmakers to have the assurance that these customers are not being taken advantage of by their regulated monopolies.
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