FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
March 29, 2010
LAST WEEK
Member Relations Survey Closed
Thank you to everyone who participated in FMPA’s 2010 Member Relations Survey, which was closed last Monday. We received an excellent 94% response rate. The survey is a strategic action item to achieve FMPA’s goal of “fostering a positive communication culture. Results will be shared with members and staff in May. Contact: Diane Nelson
House Committee Passes Bill to Regulate FMPA
The House Energy & Utilities Policy Committee met last Thursday and passed HB 1217, a bill that would make FMPA subject to regulation by the Florida Public Service Commission. Testifying in support of the bill were the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Baxter Troutman, and Fort Meade City Attoey Tom Cloud. Testifying in opposition to the bill were Ocala Council President Kent Guinn, FMPA General Counsel Fred Bryant and KUA Vice President and General Counsel Grant Lacerte. Two legislators, Rep. Jennifer Carroll and Rep. Charles Van Zant, voted against the bill; all other committee members voted for the bill. At this time, another committee meeting has not yet been scheduled for this bill.
ARP Executive Committee
FMPA’s ARP Executive Committee met last Friday and approved action items, including: 1) demand credits for excluded resources, 2) FMPA’s FERC regulatory compliance program, 3) an initial budget for outside legal counsel for Lake Worth litigation, 4) a response to Lake Worth’s letter, and 5) issuance of a request for proposals for an operational review to compare the performance of FMPA to similar entities. Contact: Michelle Pisarri.
St. Lucie Project Investment RFP
Members of the Finance Department met March 19 with FMPA’s financial advisor Craig Dunlap to review responses to a request for proposals for the long-term investment of St. Lucie Project funds. The group will invite selected respondents to give presentations on their investment proposals in April. Contact: Janet Davis
Accounting Software Improvements
Representatives from FMPA’s accounting software consultant, Progressive System Solutions, met last week with members of the Accounting Department to present two staff-requested improvements in electronic accounts payable processing. The first will improve communication with payment recipients via email. The second will reduce the time taken for month-end closing while increasing the accuracy of liability accruals reporting. Both improvements will be fully implemented by April 10. Several other suggestions to improve the quality and efficiency of the payment process will be implemented during the remainder of the year. Contact: Mark Larson
Three Phase Times
FMPA’s Power Resources Division published the latest issue of Three Phase Times last week on the Member Portal. This issue reports that the coincident Florida Municipal Power Agency system peak for February was 1,049 MW, 25% lower than the January peak and slightly higher than the February forecast of 1,044 MW. It also includes information on the ARP system peak, an hourly loads comparison, the resources fuel mix, natural gas usage by resource, Cane Island Unit 4 project milestones and budget, natural gas market pricing and other performance information for the All-Requirements Project. Contact: Tom Reedy
THIS WEEK
New Employee
Please welcome Rick Minch, who joins FMPA Monday as the Agency’s Controller. Rick joins us from Artesian Resources, Inc. in Newark, Del., where he served as Controller for nine years. He is a certified professional accountant and has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Wright State University.
Fort Meade Workshop
Fred Bryant and Nick Guarriello will attend a workshop Wednesday with the Fort Meade City Commission to discuss conces raised by the city in a Sept. 8, 2009 letter to FMPA. Matt Brower and Vince Ruano will also attend the meeting as representatives of FMPA’s All-Requirements Project. The workshop begins at 6:30 p.m. at the City Park Mobile Home activity center in Fort Meade.
ARP Business Model Working Group
The All-Requirements Project Business Model Working Group meets Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the Board room to continue its discussion of FMPA’s rate-setting process and demand-side load management. Contact: Nick Guarriello
Good Guys
The Good Guys, a group of CEOs from some of the region’s largest consumer-owned electric utilities, meet Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the Board room. Contact: Sue Utley
FMPP Executive Committee
The Florida Municipal Power Pool (FMPP) Executive Committee meets Friday at 11:30 a.m. in the Board room. Contact: Sue Utley
Member Portal Spotlight: Audit and Risk
The Audit and Risk section of FMPA’s Member Portal includes a wealth of resources produced by the Audit and Risk Management Department. Risk Link, a bi-monthly newsletter, contains information on risk management tools at FMPA, the risk mitigation efforts of various departments and the FMPA state of risk. The section also includes an archive of presentations given at meetings of the Audit and Risk Oversight Committee. For information on FMPA’s risk management efforts, check out the Agency’s risk management policies and annual risk assessments. The section also includes comprehensive audit reports delivering the results of FMPA’s contract and inteal audits. For supplemental information on risk topics, review the collection of risk articles published by the Department.
All-Requirements Project Load
The weekly update of the All-Requirements Project historical load graph is posted on the Member Portal. The graph is updated through March 28. Contact: Jim Atz
Service Anniversaries
Congratulations to Pramod Gurshaney, who celebrated two years with FMPA on Wednesday, March 24.
COMING UP
Member Service Visits
Bud Boudreaux will visit the city of Quincy on April 6. Bud will also visit Chattahoochee and Blountstown on April 7, and FMEA and Havana on April 8.
Electric Cities of Georgia Safety Training
FMPA hosts two days of safety skills training for participants in the Lineman’s Safety Program on April 19 and April 20 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at FMPA. Lunch will be provided for attendees. There is no cost associated with the training, which is only open to the 12 member cities who already participate in the Program. The sessions will cover underground standard operating procedures, distribution switching and transformer connections and banking. Contact Mike Siefert to register.
Consumer-to-Business Collections Workshop
FMPA hosts a Consumer-to-Business workshop April 29 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at FMPA. The workshop is free for FMPA members, and lunch will be provided for attendees. The session will also be Webcast for those who cannot attend in person. Participants will discuss consumer payment trends, opportunities to respond to trends, the relative risks associated with response methods and ideas for optimal cash management applications to support consumer trends. National” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.appanet.org/events/annualeventdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=26074&sn.ItemNumber=0>National Conference June 19 through June 23 in Orlando. This year’s event will feature a variety of sessions focusing on power supply and transmission issues facing public power utilities. A session called “Load Forecasting in Uncertain Times will include a discussion of factors that have made load forecasting more challenging, including the increasing real costs of energy, the economic downtu and the impact of mandatory conservation regimes. It will also cover methods forecasters should use in planning to meet future energy demand. FMPA encourages members to register for the conference to take advantage of its close location and the opportunity to network with other public power professionals. Those who