[Summit] Summit Digest, Vol 216, Issue 9

Thu Mar 16 01:39:06 UTC 2023

It was a separate email chain from yesterday. I had to go back and re-read
it. This was the section, maybe I misread it? Is this the same company?

*"RI Energy already procures "supply" on behalf of RI'ers, using companies
like NextEra. This isn't bringing them into Rhode Island or our region.
It's also a bit confusing because NextEra Inc. is the parent company of a
large conglomerate with many subsidiaries (some of which confusingly have
Nextera in their name, but Florida Power and Light is another one). "*

On Wed, Mar 15, 2023, 9:25 PM Ethan Gilsdorf <ethangilsdorf at gmail.com>
wrote:

> thanks, Emlyn. Interesting. Where did AnderBois say that?
>
> From what I can tell, there's only one NextEra Energy, and it's this
> massive power conglomerate based in Juno Beach, Florida, whose "subsidiaries
> include Florida Power & Light
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Power_%26_Light> (FPL), NextEra
> Energy Resources <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NextEra_Energy_Resources>
>  (NEER), NextEra Energy Partners
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NextEra_Energy_Partners>, Gulf Power
> Company <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Power_Company>, and NextEra
> Energy Services." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NextEra_Energy.
>
> But it would be great news if this wasn't the company in question!
>
> Thanks,
> Ethan
>
> Ethan Gilsdorf
> writer | teacher | critic | nerd
> ethan at ethangilsdorf.com | ethangilsdorf.com
> <http://www.ethangilsdorf.com/> | @ethanfreak
> <https://twitter.com/ethanfreak> | YouTube
> <https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0IW6ldnGAgXgshIsB2c1sF2viMsYy5FD>
>  | Author of* Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks
> <http://www.ethangilsdorf.com/synopsis/> | *Watch my TEDx talk "Why
> Dungeons & Dragons is Good for You (In Real Life)"
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PaHJqpQnyw&t=745s>
> *Pronouns: he/him/his*
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 15, 2023 at 8:47 PM Emlyn Addison <noisyblocks at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Just a side note that Councilwoman AnderBois had suggested that the
>> NextEra business partner in this case might not be the same one referred to
>> in the Florida article. I really have no idea on this, only passing along
>> what she wrote; I asked her for confirmation.
>>
>> If it *IS* the same NextEra (there are apparently several) then I have to
>> ask whether we want that kind of outfit operating in RI. But this needs to
>> be confirmed.
>>
>>
>> Emlyn
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 15, 2023 at 1:51 PM Ethan Gilsdorf <ethangilsdorf at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks, all, for this helpful discussion, for including Sue Anderbois'
>>> newsletter, and for being a part of this thread, Kevin Proft. (Note: we
>>> can all contact Sue, our city councilwoman here in the 3rd ward, via
>>> her website, https://www.sueanderbois.com/contact)
>>>
>>> My concern has less to do with the rollout of the program, and more to
>>> do with whether NextEra Energy is a reputable partner for our
>>> community, what sort of deal with the devil we may be entering into and
>>> what are the terms for the city backing out.
>>>
>>> First, if the city decides that the rate NextEra Energy is charging is
>>> no longer a decent rate or its energy is no longer sufficiently green and
>>> clean, or otherwise if we don't want to do business with them, can the city
>>> exit from this agreement and if so under what terms? Do we have a contract
>>> of X number of years? In other words, customers can opt-out, but what
>>> is the "opt out" clause for the city?
>>>
>>> Second, I find myself concerned by the troubling ethics of this company, NextEra
>>> Energy, which owns Florida Power & Light, the nation’s largest power
>>> company. First, it's based in Florida, not locally or regionally. That
>>> a company so far from RI controls our power supply is a concern. Second, in
>>> my opinion, NextEra Energy has bad ideas and cruel policies. It has
>>> contributed $9 million to the current DeSantis Administration. It is
>>> known for rather draconian policies around shutting off power to customers.
>>> It is actually undermining solar energy development (see below). It passes
>>> on costs to customers and raises rates. There are other allegations
>>> of bullying, corruption, and ties to dark money,
>>>
>>> Some recent troubling stories:
>>>
>>> *Ron DeSantis Is Helping Utility Companies Keep Floridians in the Dark*
>>> ("NextEra — the parent company of Florida’s largest utility, Florida Power
>>> & Light — disconnected 738,000 Floridians in 2021 and 1.1 million Americans
>>> nationwide since 2020,  according to a report
>>> <https://bailoutwatch.org/analysis/powerless-in-the-united-states-utility-shutoffs?ref=the-lever> from
>>> Bailout Watch last month. If that disconnection rate continued, noted the
>>> report, NextEra would have shut off 1.2 million customers in 2022. But we
>>> do not know the total, because the DeSantis-appointed Florida PSC allowed
>>> the company to hide the data.")
>>>
>>> https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ron-desantis-is-helping-utility-companies-keep-floridians-in-the-dark/ar-AA18imxq
>>>
>>> *Could Florida turn off the sun? Advocates say a utility-backed bill
>>> imperils rooftop solar in the Sunshine State*
>>> https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/23/politics/florida-solar-industry/index.html
>>>
>>> *Florida’s largest electric utility conspired against solar power,
>>> documents show*
>>>
>>> https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/12/20/floridas-largest-electric-utility-conspired-against-solar-power-documents-show/
>>>
>>> *NextEra Slides as Florida Executive Departs After Campaign-Donation
>>> Probe*
>>>
>>> https://news.yahoo.com/nextera-slides-florida-executive-departs-171657528.html
>>>
>>> *Amid Connections to Ongoing Election Scandals, NextEra Pours Millions
>>> into Florida’s 2022 Election Cycle*
>>>
>>> https://www.energyandpolicy.org/nextera-pours-millions-into-floridas-2022-election-cycle/
>>> (This quote is particularly troubling: "DeSantis has been largely
>>> friendly to NextEra and FPL’s legislative priorities, granting the utility $2.75
>>> million in tax breaks on speculative “green hydrogen,
>>> <https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/ten-special-interest-tax-breaks-from>”
>>> signing legislation that gave FPL permission to charge customers tens
>>> of billions of dollars for burying lines
>>> <https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-storm-protection-costs-20191017-crfsevrmtzdmligcx2bvuorvuy-story.html>,
>>> signing legislation preventing gas bans
>>> <https://gizmodo.com/ron-desantis-signs-a-bill-that-mandates-cities-keep-usi-1847176182> that
>>> would have aided Florida City Gas, and also signing legislation that
>>> forced
>>> <https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article240164928.html> the
>>> resignation of utility critic
>>> <https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-xpm-2010-01-13-fl-psc-increase-vote-20100113-story.html> JR
>>> Kelly from his leadership of the Office of Public Counsel, which represents
>>> ratepayers in rate cases."_
>>>
>>> *The scandalous mess FPL’s boss leaves behind *
>>>
>>> https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-silagy-out-fpl-20230127-adyxaajfznbphp4lpghjfox4w4-story.html
>>>
>>> Report: Electric Utilities Shut Off Power 3.6 Million Times While
>>> Increasing Payouts to Shareholders, Executives
>>>
>>> https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/report-electric-utilities-shut-off-power-36-million-times-while-increasing-payouts-to-shareholders-executives-2022-05-02/
>>>
>>> and there's this one previously shared from GoLocalProvNew Report: *Providence’s
>>> New Electricity Co. Tied to Millions to GOP to Block Shutoff Disclosure*
>>>
>>> https://www.golocalprov.com/news/new-report-providences-new-electricity-co.-tied-to-millions-to-gop-to-block
>>>
>>> Do we really want to go partner with these folks, all for saving what
>>> looks to be a few dollars a month? Can we not get our "green energy"
>>> elsewhere, aside from going to bed with NextEra and Florida Light and Power?
>>>
>>> My 2 -- ok 50 --- cents. Thanks for listening.
>>>
>>> Ethan
>>> 10th Street
>>> Ethan Gilsdorf
>>> writer | teacher | critic | nerd
>>> ethan at ethangilsdorf.com | ethangilsdorf.com
>>> <http://www.ethangilsdorf.com/> | @ethanfreak
>>> <https://twitter.com/ethanfreak> | YouTube
>>> <https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0IW6ldnGAgXgshIsB2c1sF2viMsYy5FD>
>>>  | Author of* Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks
>>> <http://www.ethangilsdorf.com/synopsis/> | *Watch my TEDx talk "Why
>>> Dungeons & Dragons is Good for You (In Real Life)"
>>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PaHJqpQnyw&t=745s>
>>> *Pronouns: he/him/his*
>>>
>>>
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