Head of main Florida power company retiring amid controversy

By TERRY SPENCER
Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The leader of Florida’s primary electric company is stepping down after it became embroiled in controversy. Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy will step down on Feb. 15. He will be replaced by Armando Pimentel, a top executive with its parent company, NextEra Energy. Since Silagy took over FPL in 2011, it has almost eliminated coal-burning power plants and moved toward cleaner sources of energy. The controversy stemmed from documents leaked to two newspapers showing the company hired a political consulting firm that ran sham candidates to siphon votes. It also spied on a Jacksonville columnist who wrote critically of the company.