Pension fund seeks NextEra transparency

Stockholder wants greater political contributions disclosure

FPL parent NextEra Energy’s shareholders are getting ready to vote on an institutional investor’s proposal that would require greater disclosure of political contributions. The vote is scheduled to take place Thursday as NextEra holds its annual meeting in Tucson, Ariz.

The New York State Common Retirement Fund’s proposal calls for the company to provide semiannual reports disclosing its policies and procedures for contributions to any political campaign. The fund also wants Nextera to identify the recipients, the amounts paid and the executives who decided to make contributions on behalf of NextEra. The fund owns 1.29 million shares of NextEra worth more than $211 million.

The shareholder proposal cites the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United where the court supported transparency as being in the best interest of shareholders.

“If we can’t see how and where portfolio companies are spending our investment dollars, then we cannot determine if those political contributions serve the company’s best interests. There is an inherent risk in corporate political spending that only increases when the money is spent in the dark. We want daylight from the companies we invest in,” said Thomas DiNapoli, New York State’s comptroller and trustee of the retirement fund, the third-largest pension fund in the nation.

DiNapoli, who in March reached an agreement with toy manufacturer Mattel on political spending disclosure, is scheduled to present the shareholder proposal at

NextEra’s meeting.

Political contributions — how they’re made and what influence they may bring — continues to be a sticky issue for FPL and other utilities.

Energy companies are among the largest contributors to Florida’s political parties, where there are no limits on the amount of money that may be given, according to “2018 Power Play Redux,” a recent report detailing those contributions.

Florida’s four biggest power companies, Florida Power & Light Co., Duke Energy, TECO and Gulf Power, made more than $43 million in political contributions in the 2014 and 2016 election cycles, which have given them significant influence over the Florida Legislature, according to the report by Integrity Florida and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. The nonprofit watchdog organizations claim the Legislature increasingly sets its agenda and policy outcomes based on “directives of large political donors rather than the public interest.”

“Campaign and other political contributions from monopoly power companies have greatly increased in the last two election cycles while policy to advance clean energy solutions in Florida, like solar and energy efficiency, continues to lag behind,” said Susan Glickman, Florida director for the Tennessee-based energy watchdog Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Asked for comment about the report, FPL spokesman Mark Bubriski said it’s “hard to take a political publicity stunt like this seriously,” noting that the Southern Alliance has sued the company “multiple times.”

“The truth is FPL ranks among the best in the country for clean energy and customer satisfaction,” Brubriski said.

On Thursday, NextEra is recommending that shareholders vote against the political contributions disclosure proposal, according to a proxy statement filed with securities regulators. NextEra says it needs to be “an effective participant in the political process” because its subsidiary FPL is regulated, and legislation could have an impact on the company’s operations and profitability.

The company notes that it has updated its website, NextEraEnergy.com to add filed lobbying reports to help ensure disclosure.

The Integrity Florida report examined campaign finance information from the 2014 and 2016 election cycles, and lobbying expenses from 2014 through 2017.

The four energy companies also spent more than $20 million to advance a “deceptive” constitutional amendment in November 2016 that critics said would limit rooftop solar expansion, according to the report. A new amendment passed in August 2016, and now solar permits for new rooftop systems are surging, the Southern Alliance says.

The Southern Alliance also said it has concerns about FPL’s growing market share in the state, with Monday’s announcement that Juno Beach-based parent NextEra Energy has inked a $6.48 billion deal to acquire Gulf Power and other Southern Co. assets. The acquisitions would make the utility holding company, already the largest in the state, even bigger.