Lies from FPL elite fuel the rise of grassroots energy activists

submitted to Palm Beach Post, 5/2/08

This weeks wisdom from multi-millionaire FPL president Armando Olivera (April 29, letter to the editor): "Over-reliance on conservation...will leave cutomers vulnerable to higher rates and decreased reliability". The letter's title, which read "Conservation a top priority for industry leader FPL", was misleading at best and utter deception otherwise. It is no secret that FPL's top priority is profit, and it is becoming unveiled that a focus on conservation and efficiency is not the direction that their investors expect them to go.

FPL is the single-most politically influential corporate interest in the State. It not surprising that they intend to maintain ultimate control over energy options. This is the same reality that landed the entire country in the Oil Regime of the Bush/Cheney empire.

Olivera makes it clear in his letter that conservation will never surpass their new Governor-backed nuclear priority. And reading other FPL headlines this week in the Post, it is apparent that gas-fired power will also continue to increase, despite a declining demand for power. Regardless of FPL's expensive public relations spin, the messages are loud and clear: conservation will never meet the corporate bottom line; if you continue to use less, we will charge you more for it.

The centralized power monopoly is already a dinosaur of the past. But the larger we let it expand with its last dying gasps, the harder and more brutal it will fall on top of us. Its time to usher in a new grassroots movement for energy justice and distributed, localized power generation. For Florida activists, FPL and their new pet-Governor are target number one.

For perspectives from the frontlines of battle with the energy empire, check out the newly released working document from the Florida Green Party and the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition:
http://pbcec.blogspot.com/2008/04/green-paper-on-climate-change-and.html

Panagioti Tsolkas
co-chair, Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition

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