FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
May 17, 2010
LAST WEEK
Business Planning and Budget Committee
FMPA’s Business Planning and Budget Committee met last Friday and approved action items, including: 1) the fiscal 2011 Agency Fund Budget for recommendation to the ARP Executive Committee, 2) the fiscal 2011 amended Agency allocation for recommendation to the Board of Directors, 3) the fiscal 2011 All-Requirements Project Budget for recommendation to the Executive Committee, 4) the fiscal 2011 St. Lucie Project Budget for recommendation to the Board of Directors, 5) the fiscal 2011 amended Stanton Project Budget for recommendation to the Board of Directors, 6) the fiscal 2011 amended Stanton II Project Budget for recommendation to the Board of Directors, and 7) the fiscal 2011 amended Tri-City Project Budget for recommendation to the Board of Directors. The next Committee meeting tentatively scheduled for May 26 has been canceled since the Committee finished its work. Contact: Mark Larson
Electricity Conservation Advisory Program
Representatives from Ocala and FMPA are developing a scope document for a proposed Electricity Conservation Advisory Program. Ocala would like to share information with its customers about the cost of producing electricity in order to encourage customers to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption during peak energy use days. Ocala has proposed the idea of developing an advisory system that could be published in newspapers and on the city’s website. A draft project scope document was sent last week to project team members for their review. Comments are due by Wednesday. After the team approves the document, it will be shared with other stakeholders for their input. For more information or to participate on the project team, contact Mark McCain.
Strategic Action Item Complete: Member Portal
FMPA’s strategic plan includes an action item to “increase the use of FMPA’s Member Portal by members and staff to enhance information-sharing and transparency. The Public Relations Department developed a plan to promote the Portal in October 2009. That plan, which included 11 goals and a 20-point action plan, has been completed, and its impact on Portal usage has been measured. Usage tracking statistics show that registrations for the Portal have increased among all target audiences and that users are spending an average of 60% more time on the site than they did prior to the campaign. Special thanks to Information Technology for technical support throughout the campaign and to Bud Boudreaux for promoting the Portal on member visits. If you have any feedback to enhance the Member Portal, fill out the feedback form online or contact Diane Nelson.
Cane Island Unit 4
Construction progress continues at Cane Island Unit 4. Representatives from FMPA and Kissimmee Utility Authority attended the monthly owners’ meeting last Tuesday to receive an update on the project. The owners’ group also met last Wednesday with representatives from Zachry to discuss the initial electric power backfeed startup coordination. Contact: Steve Carroll
St. Lucie Project Investment Options
Members of FMPA’s finance team met last Wednesday with financial advisor Craig Dunlap to review proposals from investment banks for the long-term investment of funds from the St. Lucie Project. A common theme among most proposals was the recommendation to wait some length of time before making any investments. The group will continue its analysis of proposals after further investigation of investment options. Contact: Janet Davis
THIS WEEK
Member Services Survey
Don’t forget to take FMPA’s new member services survey. Member Services is conducting a brief survey to assess a potential new member service to support members with asset management, work management and compliance management. The survey only has nine questions, mostly multiple-choice, and takes only a few minutes to complete. To take the survey, visit http://tinyurl.com/FMPAMemberServices>http://tinyurl.com/FMPAMemberServices;. Feel free to share this link with the appropriate person in your organization to answer questions on these topics. Contact: Mike Siefert
APPA National Conference Registration Deadline
Sunday is the early registration deadline for the American Public Power Association’s register” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.appanet.org/login/login.cfm?resultPage=%2Fapplications%2Fregistration%2Fregister.cfm%3FItemNumber%3D26074>register online receive an additional $50 discount. Conference attendees can attend a wide variety of sessions on important issues facing public power, including smart grid, economic development, utility financial operations, management and goveance, cyber security, power supply, transmission, distribution, environmental issues and more.
Lake Worth Gas Lateral
Representatives from the city of Lake Worth and FMPA meet Thursday to continue discussions attempting to resolve issues regarding the natural gas lateral serving Lake Worth. Contact: Nick Guarriello
Groundman Certification Workshop
FMPA and Electric Cities of Georgia will host four days of Groundman Certification training for participants in the Lineman’s Safety Training Program on Tuesday through Friday at Kissimmee Utility Authority. There is no cost for the training, which is open to the 12 member cities who already participate in the Program. The session will cover operational and technical processes for both new and seasoned Groundmen. Contact: Mike Siefert
Air Toxicity Regulations Webinar
FMPA hosts a webinar Tuesday at 11 a.m. for participants from Homestead, Keys Energy Services, Lake Worth, Lakeland and New Smya Beach to review new Environmental Protection Agency regulations applicable to older diesel engines. The group will discuss a proposal from R.W. Beck to assist affected members in complying with the new regulations. Contact: Mike Siefert
Dog Bite Prevention Workshop
FMPA hosts a Dog Bite Prevention workshop Thursday in the Board room at 9 a.m. The workshop, presented in conjunction with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Central Florida, helps utility employees minimize the likelihood of a dog attack. The course will teach how to recognize and respond to hazardous situations with dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs. Contact Sharon Samuels or Mike Siefert by Wednesday to sign up.
Member Portal Spotlight: Rates
The Rates section on FMPA’s Member Portal is an excellent resource for information on the Agency’s wholesale rates. An update of the All-Requirements Project historical load graph is posted in this section each week and at the end of each month. This week’s graph is updated through May 16. Monthly historical load updates list the All-Requirements Project’s peak demand and load factor for the previous month. FMPA’s official rate schedule and calculations for the monthly ARP rate workshop are also housed in this section.
COMING UP
Tour of Cane Island Unit 4
FMPA invites its members to tour the Unit 4 construction site at Cane Island Power Park on May 26 at 10:30 a.m. To sign up, please contact Sue Utley.
Contractor Safety Management Workshop
FMPA will host a Contractor Safety Management workshop June 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at FMPA. David Casavant of the Workplace Safety Awareness Council will teach participants about an easy-to-implement system for protecting organizations that hire contract workers. The system is based on best practices in the risk management and safety industries. The registration fee is $125 per person, and lunch will be provided. YouTube” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.youtube.com/user/KeysEnergyServices>YouTube channel in an effort to better disseminate video content to its customers. The first videos posted on the channel are 16 clips on energy conservation produced as part of FMPA’s All-Requirements Project Conservation Program. The utility also has a presence on two other popular social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter.
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 in FMPA’s Public Relations Department.
Want more background on the names and terms used in this newsletter? Check out FMPA’s 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