FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Nov. 23, 2009
LAST WEEK
Audit Interviews
FMPA’s exteal auditor, Purvis, Gray & Company, held exit interviews with the Agency’s Accounting Department last Monday. In December, the auditors will meet with Nick Guarriello and the Audit and Risk Oversight Committee. Contact: Mark Larson
IT Steering Committee
FMPA’s IT Steering Committee met last Tuesday. The Committee made a final recommendation to proceed with transitioning FMPA’s software to Microsoft 2007 and toured a potential data collocation facility on John Young Parkway. Obtaining a larger, more capable backup facility is a critical path item in addressing recommendations from the Protiviti audit of FMPA’s information systems. Contact: Carter Manucy
Fort Meade Visit
Nick Guarriello and Fred Bryant visited Fort Meade last Wednesday to speak at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon about FMPA, the Agency’s rates and what FMPA is doing to retu to rate competitiveness. Approximately 60 people attended the presentation, which was followed by a good discussion with the audience.
Preliminary Official Statement
FMPA, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley signed a Preliminary Official Statement last Wednesday for the Agency’s upcoming bond issuance. The total issuance of $60.58 million will provide funds for the Stanton, Stanton II, St. Lucie and Tri-City projects. The proceeds will refinance loans from the Pooled Loan Fund and fund capital improvements. Underwriters will price the bonds Dec. 2. Pre-closing is planned for Dec. 9, and closing is scheduled for Dec. 10. Contact: Janet Davis
St. Lucie Refinancing
Janet Davis, Mark Larson and Ed Nunez met last Thursday with representatives from PNC bank to discuss revised terms for refinancing the St Lucie Project’s auction rate securities.
Key West Fire Protection
FMPA’s Risk Management Department received comments last week from the Agency’s property insurance provider regarding fire protection systems at the Stock Island generation facility in Key West. FMPA is working with the company to determine if any modifications to the systems will be needed in 2010. Contact: Rich Popp
Cane Island Unit 4
Construction teams at Cane Island Unit 4 will practice delivering heavy-haul equipment to the site on Nov. 24. This is one of several measures taken by FMPA to ensure that heavy-haul trucks will cross the railroad tracks according to plan. The following week, teams will transport the first two of 20 heavy haul pieces of equipment to the site. A representative from rail company CSX will be present to oversee the transportation. In addition, FMPA and CSX finalized an agreement last week to allow for the installation of a reclaimed water line at the construction site. Visit InSite to view three new aerial photos from the Cane Island construction site that were posted last Friday. Contact: Jim Hay or Susan Schumann
CR3 Outage Update
The Crystal River Unit 3 nuclear plant refueling outage continues on budget toward a new targeted on-line date of Dec. 27. Teams investigating a concrete crack in the containment building completed their work last week. The repair plan has been sent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for review. With all major steam components in place, crews are now focused on fitting and welding the piping components. Contact: David Schumann
HedgeSite
FMPA’s Marketing and Fuels Department published a new issue of “HedgeSite on the Member Portal last Tuesday. This issue features overviews of FMPA’s hedges, storage and physical gas. The newsletter reports that instability in the economy is expected to cause volatility in natural gas prices and demand in 2010, and outlines measures employed by FMPA to mitigate this volatility. To read the issue, visit the Energy Supply and Fuels section on the Portal.
THIS WEEK
Holiday Office Closures
FMPA’s offices will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
NESC Summary of Change Proposals Workshop
Friday is the deadline to register for FMPA’s NESC Summary of Change Proposals workshop. The workshop is scheduled for Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at FMPA. The course is designed to review the 2012 National Electric Safety Code (NESC) change proposals and to develop comments as required from the attendees. Visit Web” rel=”nofollow”>http://tracking.naylorcampaigns.com/track?type=click&mailingid=507738&messageid=507681&databaseid=507681&serial=1202875143&[email protected]&userid=1035370&extra=&&&2011&&&http//www.epa.gov/air/sulfurdioxide/>Web site.
JEA Announces Intent to Buy Power from Biomass Unit
JEA signed a letter of intent to purchase electricity from a proposed biomass plant in Hamilton County west of Jacksonville, according to a report in the South Florida Business Joual. The 50 megawatt wood-waste fueled unit planned for commercial operation in 2012 is a joint venture of Duke Energy Corp and Areva Inc. According to news reports, JEA expects to know by the end of the year whether it has secured a contract to buy the electricity. The joint venture, called Adage LLC, plans to develop 12 biomass projects over the next five years. Possible locations for additional plants include North Florida, South Georgia and Texas.
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 Skye Guthrie or Diane Nelson 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: Skye Guthrie or Diane Nelson