FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
May 18, 2009
LAST WEEK
Cane Island Unit 4
Osceola County issued the final permits for Cane Island Unit 4 last week, after FMPA submitted the final road maintenance bond. At the site, Zachry delivered and installed office trailers. The project and employment trailer has been established at the entrance to Cane Island Power Park.
Requests for Proposals
FMPA issued two requests for proposals last week. The first request is for natural gas management services. The second is for natural gas storage management services. The deadline for bidders to submit proposals is May 27. Contact: Richard Montgomery
Grant Writers
FMPA received four proposals in response to a request for grant writing and research services. The request for proposals seeks grant writing services for members to apply for funding opportunities, such as capital improvements, the federal economic stimulus package, renewable energy, and environmental health and safety programs. FMPA plans to recommend a short list by the end of this week. Contact: Mike Siefert
Vero Beach CROD
Representatives from FMPA, Orlando Utilities Commission and the city of Vero Beach met last Friday to discuss the transition to Vero Beach’s Contract Rate of Delivery (CROD) in January 2010. Contact: Tom Reedy
Economic Stimulus Workgroup
The Economic Stimulus Workgroup met last Friday and has expanded to include all FMPA and Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) members. The next meeting is May 29. For more information on the Economic Stimulus Workgroup, visit the FMPA Member Portal.
Solar PV
A solar review team, comprised of representatives from Black & Veatch, Florida Solar Energy Center and FMPA, met with several vendors last week and will meet with several more this week to evaluate proposals for solar photovoltaic installations in FMPA member cities. The review team plans make a recommendation in late May or early June. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
HedgeSite
The March issue of “HedgeSite has been posted on the FMPA Member Portal. “HedgeSite is a newsletter produced by FMPA’s Marketing and Fuels staff. This issue features overviews on hedging, storage and physical gas. To read the issue, visit the Energy Supply and Fuels section on the FMPA Member Portal.
FMPA Member Portal
Agenda packages posted on the FMPA Member Portal are now searchable by subject. Also, a new section called Economic Stimulus Workgroup has been created that includes: 1) agendas, 2) energy efficiency and block grants information, 3) documents related to the workgroup, and 4) related links.
Celebration of Life
Thank you to all who joined Linda Williams and family last Saturday for the Celebration of Life for Bob Williams. If you did not have a chance to sign the online memory book, please visit http://tinyurl.com/bwilliams>http://tinyurl.com/bwilliams;.
Correction
Shooting for the energy conservation DVD project for the All-Requirements’ Conservation Fund has been postponed. The date has not yet been rescheduled. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
THIS WEEK
Joint Transmission Operations
Representatives of Beaches Energy Services, Homestead, Kissimmee Utility Authority, New Smya Beach and Vero Beach meet Monday via conference call at 10 a.m. to continue discussion on a potential joint transmission operation program. The program would establish a single, joint transmission operator that would be responsible for meeting the North American Electric Reliability Corporation standards. Contact: Mike Siefert
Member Visits
Bud Boudreaux travels to St. Cloud on Tuesday and to Gainesville Regional Utilities on May 28 for member city visits.
Audit and Risk Oversight Committee
The Audit and Risk Oversight Committee meets Thursday in the Board room at 9 a.m. The Committee will consider McNeary to provide insurance consulting services. The Committee will also hear updates on topics including: 1) fuels market, 2) hedge portfolio position, 3) risk management department mission statement, and 4) several risk policies. To view the agenda package, visit the 2009 agenda packages section on the Members Portal.
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors meets for a special-called meeting Thursday in the Board room at 10:30 a.m. The Board will consider action items, including: 1) a swap advisor, 2) an independent auditor, 3) engineering services contracts, and 4) a contract for Nick Guarriello. To view the agenda package, visit the 2009 agenda packages section on the Members Portal.
ARP Executive Committee
The ARP Executive Committee meets Thursday in the Board room at 12:30 p.m. The Committee will consider action items, including: 1) use of current excess bond proceeds, 2) an independent auditor, 3) potential power purchase agreements for biomass capacity, and 4) two action items recommended by the city of Fort Meade. To view the agenda package, visit the 2009 agenda packages section on the Members Portal.
Nominating Committee
The Board of Directors’ Nominating Committee meets Thursday in the first floor conference room at 2 p.m.
Inteal Auditing Webinar
Clemente Cuevas, Denise Fuentes and Liyuan Woeer will participate in a webinar, called Changes in the Inteational Standards for the Professional Practice of Inteal Auditing, on Thursday in the first floor conference room at 9 a.m. Participants will lea about new standards for the inteal audit function.
Public Relations Teleseminar
Mark McCain, Bree Balchunas and Diane Nelson will participate in a teleseminar on Thursday at 3 p.m., called Writing Microcontent That Communicates Effectively on the Web. Participants will lea how to write short content for Web sites that engages and communicates with readers.
Business Planning and Budget Committee
The Business Planning and Budget Committee meets Friday in the Board room from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for an All-Requirements Project budget workshop and to discuss some final matters related to the Agency budget.
All-Requirements Project Load
The weekly update of the All-Requirements Project historical load graph has been posted on the Member Portal. The graph is updated through May 17. Contact: Jim Atz
COMING UP
Memorial Day
FMPA’s offices will be closed next Monday, May 25 in observance of Memorial Day. Have a safe and happy holiday.
Employees “Right to Know Standard Workshop
A workshop about the Employees “Right to Know Standard will be hosted by FMPA on July 15 in the Board room at 10 a.m. Participants will lea about the Hazard Communication Standard, also known as the Right to Know Standard, including how to properly label materials and training requirements for educating an organization’s employees. For more information and to register, visit the” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.pwc.com/Extweb/pwcpublications.nsf/docid/0E94A614DED328DB852575AD0070EDEF>the PricewaterhouseCoopers Web site to download the complete report.
FMPA Weekly is published by FMPA for employees and goveing boards of FMPA member utilities. Questions or comments about this newsletter may be directed to Diane Nelson or Beth Pangbo in FMPA’s Public Relations Department.
Want more background on the names and terms used in this newsletter? Check out FMPA’s new Glossary, which features some of the most frequently mentioned committees, companies, places and terms, or contact the person named in each FMPA story to lea more. (Click here for the Staff Directory).
Have a question, comment or story idea for the newsletter? FMPA welcomes your feedback at any time. Contact Diane Nelson.