Comment by mikeyouse | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mikeyouse | Hacker News Reader

This is an important subject - there is something deeply rotten in the utility world in the South. There are a bunch of stories you wouldn't think are connected, but all have major utilities in the background. From 'fake news' sites set up to smear candidates, to huge bribes paid via nonprofits, to sham candidates backed by the utility running in close elections, to capital plans that include hundreds of millions of dollars in case of snow in Miami.. I really hope the FBI is working on this;

* Ex-Florida senator charged in fake candidate scheme (https://apnews.com/article/miami-senate-elections-florida-el...)

* Florida’s dark money playbook: How ‘ghost’ candidate scheme revealed secretive political tactics (https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-dark-money-ghost-...)

* Firm working for FPL took control of news site, let execs influence coverage, records show (https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/os-ne-fpl-matrix-c...)

* Nonprofit funded with FPL cash backed DeSantis’ 2018 campaign (https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2022/09/06/no...)

* Joel Greenberg alleged far-reaching public corruption in Florida jailhouse interview (https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2022/09/07/jo...)

* Leaked: US power companies secretly spending millions to protect profits and fight clean energy (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/27/leaked-u...)

* Tom Fanning Southern Company Matrix Scandal: What don’t we know? (https://www.energyandpolicy.org/tom-fanning-southern-company...)

* FPL’s extreme winter plan would create 'unnecessary' costs to consumers, critics say (https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/business/2022/06/28/flor...)

Don't forget:

* $10B+ wasted on completely failed SC nuclear plant, which basically led to its collapse and subsequent buyout by out-of-state (Dominion) utility https://apnews.com/article/sc-state-wire-south-carolina-busi...

* GA version is still lurching to completion... at cost now approaching $30B https://www.ajc.com/news/as-vogtles-nuclear-units-move-towar...

Vogtie really is going to scare a lot of people off from nuclear for a very long time. I think ultimately, the federal government will need to assume responsibility for the construction and operation of nuclear plants. And when future generations look into why that is, Vogtie will be right up at the top of the list of reasons.

Governments just need to stop wasting public money on them. Take them over, shut them down.

FPL (through a third party) also hired a private investigator to follow around a local opinion columnist because he was writing articles against the proposed privatization of Jacksonville's municipal utility company.

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2022/06/24/fpl...

Also worth mentioning the related scandal[1] of JEA's former CEO and CFO attempting to sneak in a "Long-Term Incentive Performance Unit Plan" that would have paid out hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars as bonuses to executives if "a recapitalization event (including a sale of JEA) occurred, meaning payouts would have been funded by net proceeds to the COJ from the sale of JEA."

Entirely unsurprising who the top private bidder was[2].

[1] https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2022/03/07/for...

[2] https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2020/08/26/nex...

Thanks for collecting these. It's interesting that these issues don't (appear) to plague larger utilities like the TVA[1], which seems to be actively exploring and developing renewable projects.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Valley_Authority

Yeah, I'm not sure what it is about the TVA -- feels almost like DARPA in a way. Something about the staffing and organization has led to a model utility. They're not without minor scandal occasionally but given the amount of political power they wield, maybe it's the distinction that TVA is government-owned and NextERA (who runs FPL) and Southern Company are both for-profit corporations?

You can also maybe extend that further to the people behind the decisions to make something private or public. If you're looking to commit crimes, you're probably going to have an easier time in the private sector.

Ha. Well maybe technically. In the government sector, you may control what the definition of a crime is, or maybe you exempt yourself from the laws that apply to everyone else (looking at you, Congress).

TVA is a federal project, not a state regulatory body.

Apolitical civil service government organizations are good at sustained operations and incremental growth/change. They are bad at rapid change. The controls they have are reasonably effective at preventing the type of corruption that you see.

The coal/rail/electric supply chain is a breeding ground for all sorts of shenanigans for all sorts of people. Plenty of drunken uncles have bullshit jobs in the utility and rail space. That culture permeates into new projects as well.

In the Federal space, that kind of crap doesn't fly for long.

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