FPL CEO, who was under fire recently, retiring after leading utility for 11 years
After what his boss called a year of “distractions,” Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy announced his retirement on Wednesday after months of negative media reports about his secretive role in manipulating state and local political campaigns.
Silagy, 57, who spent 20 years at the nation’s largest monopoly electric company, rose from being vice president of regulatory and state government affairs to FPL’s president in 2011 and chief executive officer in 2014. He was named chairman of the company last year after he was passed over by the board of directors of FPL’s parent company, NextEra Energy, which named John Ketchum chairman, president and CEO.
The announcement of Silagy’s retirement came during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. Armando Pimentel, who previously served in several senior executive roles with NextEra Energy, will rejoin the company and become president and CEO of FPL, Ketchum said.
Pimentel will occupy his new posts on Feb. 15 and work with Silagy on a transition, FPL said. Silagy’s last day will be May 15.
“When John became
CEO of NextEra Energy last year, I committed to him that I would stay in my role for at least one more year, and I’ve now satisfied that commitment,’’ Silagy said in prepared remarks.
“While saying ‘goodbye’ to such a great organization is always difficult, I know that now is the right time for me to hand over the reins of FPL.”
In the past few years, Silagy became embroiled in a series of political scandals. Reporting by the Miami Herald and other news organizations revealed
FPL’s efforts under his leadership to secretly bankroll a spoiler candidate in a Gainesville state Senate race and a Miami-Dade County Commission race; secretly craft legislation to maintain FPL’s grip on the solar-energy market; snap up a public utility in Jacksonville; push for rate increases on residential customers tail a journalist it disliked using private investigators; and secretly take over a supposedly independent news website to attack critics.
In October, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that a secret fundraising network created by political operatives working for FPL and other clients appears to have violated campaign-finance laws and should be investigated.
NO ‘CONNECTION’ TO INVESTIGATION
During the question-andanswer
period with financial analysts, Ketchum denied there was any connection between the federal investigation and Silagy’s retirement.
During his tenure, Silagy earned a reputation for his willingness to use the company’s deep pockets to steer campaign donations to elected officials, often using secretive nonprofits and elaborate schemes designed by out-of-state consultants and Florida lawyers to shield the company’s involvement.
An anonymous letter sent on Nov. 4, 2021, to Robo, the then-CEO of NextEra Energy, was leaked to the Miami Herald and other news organizations. It included dozens of internal documents from Matrix LLC, the Alabama-based public-relations and lobbying firm then-employed by
FPL, and showed how consultants avoided a paper trail by communicating with Silagy through text messages to his cellphone or by using his personal Yahoo email account.
POLITICAL INFLUENCE AND ENTANGLEMENTS
The documents also depicted a picture of Silagy as an executive who took a deep interest in the company’s political operation, the outcome of legislative races, and especially how the company was portrayed in the media.
His consultants planned the acquisition of the Tallahassee-based conservative website, the Capitolist, known for its self-described “snarky tone.” After two years of negotiations, an FPL consultant, Abigail MacIver, created a Delaware-based company to pay the founder of the site, former Rick Scott communications director Brian Burgess, using money advanced to her from FPL. She would serve as the president of the company, but Burgess would also report to a former Silagy deputy, Tim Fitzpatrick.
Emails show how Silagy gave Burgess story ideas that reflected favorably on his company and negatively on its critics and for stories about reporters he considered unfriendly, including those at the Miami Herald.
In 2009, Silagy directed FPL’s campaign targeting four Florida Public Service Commission members appointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist who rejected the largest rate request FPL had ever made. The commissioners were not confirmed by the state Senate after behind-the-scenes lobbying.
Since then, FPL has enjoyed favorable treatment by state regulators. In 2022, the PSC approved a record-setting $4.86 billion in rate increases for FPL customers over the next four years.
Silagy has also maintained close ties with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has appointed him to the Board of Governors of the state university system. Silagy also served a term on the Enterprise Florida
Board of Directors.