FPL makes fortune in 2008, makes "Fortune" list in 2009

It's more than appropriate that FPL Group was named to Fortune magazine's list of "Most Admired Companies" this year ... and not because we think FPL Group is to be much admired, at all.

It's appropriate because FPL Group truly made a fortune last year -- posting an 82% increase in profits during 4Q-2008, 25% for the year -- while hitting customers with a fuel surcharge that raised monthly electricity bills, even though fuel prices had dropped dramatically by the end of the year.

FPL Group was so proud of itself that it quickly pumped out its own press release today, trumpeting "FPL Group named No. 1 in electric power sector on Fortune magazine's 2009 'Most Admired Companies' list."

What FPL Group didn't say is that it didn't even make Fortune's "Top 50" in the most-admired listing, where it nevertheless would have joined such examples of corporate citizenship as Wal-Mart; or the pride of our illustrious investment banking industry, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan; or one of our shining examples of retail banking, Bank of America -- quick to take bailout money, slow to lend and now teetering on the verge of going belly-up!

Oh, well. Guess FPL's consolation is that they're looking forward to a big decision by the Florida Public Service Commission in their favor sometime after March that will help them to make a real "fortune" again in 2010 -- this time hitting customers with a base-rate hike of nearly a billion dollars beginning Jan. 1, 2010 to pay for two new and unnecessary nuclear reactors at Turkey Point!

Once again, FPL stands to make a fortune, while its customer base is fast headed toward poverty!