“FPL profits on the backs of working families and politicians like Ashley Moody are part of the business model,” Uhlfelder said. His comments come as many have privately questioned Florida Power & Light’s vast political and lobbying influence across the state.

Following the 2020 elections, the Florida press corps has reported extensively on the political operatives and money men behind a coordinated effort to run a slate of “ghost candidates” in tight Democratically held Florida Senate seats. After media reports surfaced that FPL may have been directing funds through a series of dark fundings to orchestrate the “ghost candidate” operation, there was a short-lived effort to seek oversight through the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) for answers. In a letter to the PSC, Reps. Anna Eskamani, Carlos Guillermo Smith, Travaris McCurdy, and Angie Nixon asked for “an in-depth and thorough audit of FPL’s expenditures.”

Few politicians, even Democrats, have been willing to challenge FPL publicly. Uhlfelder says he wasn’t concerned about the risk of upsetting the notoriously generous corporation known for its vast political expenditures. 

“It’s wrong,” Uhlfelder told Our Tallahassee, who says that FPL’s giving — and Moody’s acceptance of the contributions – can’t reassure Floridian’s hopes for an attorney general to protect the public’s interest.