FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Nov. 9, 2009
LAST WEEK
Draft Bill to Place FMPA Under PSC Regulation
A draft bill in the Florida House of Representatives would place FMPA under regulation by the Florida Public Service Commission. The Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) notified its members of this development last Friday in an e-mail. FMPA will coordinate a response with FMEA. Contact: Nick Guarriello
ARP Business Model Working Group
The ARP Business Model Working Group met last Thursday to discuss Integrated Resource Planning and the Cane Island Unit 4 project. An analysis of the Cane Island Unit 4 project presented by Steve Carroll reviewed FMPA’s options to delay, cancel or continue construction. Based on cost analyses for each option, members of the Group voted to recommend to the ARP Executive Committee that FMPA continue with the project as scheduled. This information will be presented at the Executive Committee’s Dec. 3 meeting. The Group scheduled two more meetings for Nov. 12 and Dec. 16. For more information, see the related story in the This Week section of this issue. Contact: Nick Guarriello
Cane Island Unit 4
The gas turbine foundation was poured last Wednesday at the Cane Island Unit 4 construction site. This major milestone involved laying 1,000 cubic yards of concrete. FMPA’s Project Development Manager Steve Carroll will visit Treasure Coast Energy Center on Monday to inspect the condition of the plant and to gather best practices for use in the Cane Island Unit 4 project.
Novation of Interest Rate Swap
FMPA’s Finance Division completed a novation, a legal process to replace a partner in a contract, for an interest rate swap last week. Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay a settlement to the original partner, an entity of Lehman Brothers, and will become FMPA’s new counter party for the swap. Contact: Mark Larson
CR3 Outage Update
The Crystal River Unit 3 nuclear plant refueling outage is currently on budget and 12 days behind its planned 77-day schedule. Site technical teams will complete their investigation of a concrete crack in the containment building later this week. A repair team is working in conjunction with the investigation team to develop a repair plan. The root cause and repair plan will be finished in mid-November. Contact: David Schumann
THIS WEEK
Member Portal Spotlight: Member Visit Reports
FMPA’s Member Portal is an important informational resource for FMPA’s members and staff. To familiarize everyone with the Portal’s wide range of information and tools, FMPA Weekly will feature a Member Portal Spotlight, highlighting some lesser-known but useful features. Our first spotlight subject is the monthly Member Visit report posted on the Portal. These reports are compiled monthly by FMPA’s executive consultant, Bud Boudreaux, based on his visits to member cities. The reports are useful for FMPA’s members to see what issues other cities are talking about and what member services other members are using or considering using. FMPA staff may also be interested to follow where Bud is visiting and what types of feedback he receives from members regarding FMPA and its staff. The reports can be found in the Member Services section. Read the latest report now. Contact: Diane Nelson
ARP Business Model Working Group
The ARP Business Model Working Group (BMWG) meets Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Participants can join the meeting in person or via teleconference. Guests from other joint action agencies will join the meeting to discuss the business models of other agencies. Another BMWG meeting has been scheduled for Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. and will be held jointly with the Conservation and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee to discuss demand-side management. Contact: Nick Guarriello
APPA 2010 Conference
Nick Guarriello and Mark McCain will attend a meeting on Thursday to begin planning for the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) 2010 National Conference to be held in Orlando. The Local Arrangements Committee, chaired by FMEA’s Barry Moline, includes representatives from several municipal electric utilities in the Central Florida area. The Committee will coordinate locally sponsored conference activities and suggest program topics and speakers. For more information on APPA’s National Conference in June 2010, visit APPA’s FMPA’s” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.fmpa.com/index.php/component/registrationpro/?view=event&did=14>FMPA’s Web site to register by Nov. 27. Contact: Mike Siefert
RCRA DOT Training
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) annual and refresher training will be held Nov. 20 at FMPA. This one-day course covers a variety of topics, including: 1) general provisions of DOT training requirements, 2) hazardous materials, 3) specific requirements for electric utility hazmat employees, 4) emergency response information, and 5) accident prevention methods and procedures. To register for the training, visit