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

Profile

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

References:

Archives