that might have stopped a lesser company in
its tracks.
The Entergy merger was terminated in
April 2001 and the Constellation Energy deal
fell through in October ’06, but disappointment
in that arena didn’t slow the company down
for a minute. Today, with annual revenues of
nearly $16 billion and a growing presence in
27 states, Juno Beach, Fla.-based FPL Group
(NYSE: FPL) is widely recognized as one of
the country’s premier power companies. Its
principal subsidiary, regulated electric utility
Florida Power & Light Company, serves
more than 4. 5 million customer accounts
in Florida, while FPL Energy LLC, FPL
Group’s competitive energy subsidiary, is a
leader in producing electricity from clean and
renewable fuels.
We talked with Lewis Hay III, chairman
and CEO of FPL Group, about this remarkable
company, but first, a little background on just
what makes the company special.
Climate change: Take action today
Perhaps it’s in the debate about global
warming that FPL Group has most clearly
shown its true colors. In June, when Hay
testified to Congress on climate change, he
said that there is enough evidence of global
climate change to warrant taking action
today. “We know enough to know there is a
risk of severe consequences, and just as we
buy insurance, we need to address that risk.”
He strongly endorsed a carbon fee as the best
A green sea turtle. FPL maintains an extensive sea turtle monitoring and research program at its St. Lucie nuclear power plant in south Florida. Photo, FPL Group.
way to achieve meaningful reductions in
greenhouse gases.
In early November, when a sub-
committee of the Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee voted to move
a climate change bill entitled America’s
Climate Security Act to the full committee
for hearings and a markup, Hay said that
while FPL Group is a strong proponent of
mandatory climate change legislation, the
act is fundamentally flawed.
“We need to enact a mandatory,
economy-wide program that slows the
growth of carbon emissions and ultimately
reverses the trend,” said Hay. “But we must
take the time to get it right. Compromising on
key provisions, like giving away allowances
to the biggest emitters or failing to include a
clear safety valve, is not the way to start.”
FPL Group’s 36,000-megawatt power
generation fleet has one of the lowest carbon
dioxide emission rates in the country. As part
of the EPA’s Climate Leader Program, FPL
Group committed to achieve an 18 percent
reduction in emissions rates of greenhouse
gases by 2008, compared to a 2001 baseline.
And FPL is also the largest U.S. power
company to have joined World Wildlife
Fund’s Powerswitch! Pioneers program.
FPL Energy and Florida Power & Light:
Trailblazers
FPL Energy, the competitive energy arm
UTILITY continued on 30
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