Alabama Power tasked Matrix to вЂњmonitorвЂќ environmental groups, regulators

Jeff Pitts was CEO of Matrix LLC during the time period in question. Pitts or others were involved with any ghost candidate campaign, their involvement was without MatrixвЂ™s knowledge or consent and contrary to Matrix policy.вЂќ EPI stands by the reporting that Matrix LLC was involved with this scandal, involvement which was originally reported by the Orlando Sentinel. Perkins nor any Matrix employee provided legitimate services to or had any direct or indirect involvement in any of the Florida ghost candidate campaigns. Their letter asserts in part, вЂњNeither Dr. UPDATE: After publication of this piece, Matrix LLC and Joe Perkins, via an attorney, demanded retractions. Perkins, who founded Matrix, is currently embroiled in a legal battle with the consultancyвЂ™s former CEO Jeff Pitts, who is now the head of a competing company called Canopy Partners. They contained reporting provisions that required Matrix and Perkins Communications to provide information to Alabama Power upon request and to keep detailed records of activities performed on behalf of the utility.Д®PI reached out to Alabama Power seeking comment on the contracts posted on the blog, and Alabama Power replied with the following statement: вЂњMatrix has provided strategy and policy advice to Alabama Power for many years.вЂќ The contracts were worth just over $2.5 million from January 1, 2018, to July 31, 2019. These new records appear to show two Alabama Power contracts, one for вЂњ consulting servicesвЂќ with Perkins Communications LLC, and another for вЂњ governmental relationsвЂќ with Matrix LLC both corporations are owned by Joe Perkins. Watkins is an attorney who last year lost a $1.5 million defamation lawsuit brought by Perkins and is currently serving time in a federal prison on wire fraud and bank fraud charges. The contracts were posted on the blog of Donald Watkins shortly after Christmas 2021. The records appear to be contracts between Alabama Power and companies controlled by Joe Perkins, a longtime Alabama-based political consultant whose companies have been connected to numerous utility-adjacent controversies, including the вЂњ ghost-candidateвЂќ election scandals in Florida and the North Birmingham bribery scandal in 2018, which has been referred to as вЂњ AlabamaвЂ™s Watergate.вЂќ Documents recently posted online suggest that Alabama Power engaged in a multi-million dollar effort to monitor environmental groups, exert pressure on regulators, and conduct other political activities.

Alabama power utility assistant