Florida Power CEO implicated in scandals abruptly steps down

Eric Silagy, the president and CEO of Florida Power & Light, during an interview Thursday, June 9, 2022. FPL executives suggested story topics and headlines for the Tallahassee-based news site The Capitolist through consultants at the firm Matrix LLC. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]

By Mario Ariza for Floodlight and David Folkenflik for NPR

Florida Power & Light, one of the largest power companies in the country, unexpectedly announced the retirement of its CEO on Wednesday.

Eric Silagy, CEO since 2014, will depart the company in April.

Silagy, 54, has been a key figure in an ongoing scandal embroiling the company that includes allegations of campaign finance violations, media manipulation, and the surveillance of critical journalists.

Asked by Wall Street analysts during a Wednesday morning earnings call if Silagy’s retirement was in any way connected to an internal investigation that the company has been conducting in response to media reports, John Ketchum, CEO of NextEra Energy, FPL’s parent company, responded in the negative.

“We're not making a connection,” he said.

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