FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
August 2, 2010
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LAST WEEK
City of Quincy Selects FMPA’s Power Supply Bid
The city of Quincy accepted a bid from FMPA last week to provide wholesale power over a five-year period beginning January 2011. Quincy received six total bids, including proposals from Constellation Energy, the city of Tallahassee, Florida Power & Light, Progress Energy and two from FMPA. FMPA’s bid was selected because it provided the lowest cost to the city and its customers. The accepted bid is for a market-based, full-requirements sale of approximately 23 megawatts. Tom Reedy, Richard Montgomery, Michele Jackson and Joe McKinney will have their first meeting with the city next week to start the process of negotiating a contract.
FERC Issues Certificate to Transco to Expand Capacity
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently issued a certificate to Transco to expand capacity and move surplus volumes of natural gas south of Station 85 to Florida Gas Transmission and Gulfstream, which provide FMPA with natural gas transmission. In February 2009, while Transco was gauging market interest in moving the additional capacity, FMPA requested 50,000 MMBtu of the incremental capacity of 380,000 MMBtu. Transco expects the entire capacity will be available on schedule by May 2011, pending modification of the existing pipeline that currently moves gas north from Mobile Bay to Station 85.
FPL Transmission Tariff
Florida Power & Light (FPL) filed revised tariff sheets April 30 to implement a cost of service formula rate for wholesale transmission service effective July 1. FMPA intervened and protested, and the matter was set for a settlement hearing. A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hearing was held last Wednesday to set a schedule for potential settlement discussions. The process begins Aug. 18 with a technical conference at FERC to discuss the mechanics of the formula rate. The next full settlement conference is scheduled for Oct. 21. Stay tuned to FMPA Weekly for more details on the settlement. Contact: Michele Jackson
Business Model Working Group
The All-Requirements Project Business Model Working Group (BMWG) met last week to discuss joint action agency arrangements and the All-Requirements Project’s rate structure. The next BMWG meeting is Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. in the Board room.
Electricity Conservation Advisory Program
Participants in the Electricity Conservation Advisory Program (ECAP) met last Tuesday to brainstorm major project tasks and discuss the priority of each step. The next ECAP conference call is scheduled for Aug. 10 at 3 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to welcome new participants from Keys Energy Services, Leesburg and Newberry, as well as finalize action items and proposed deadlines. Contact: Mark McCain
CR3 Status
Concrete placement at the Crystal River Unit 3 nuclear plant repair site is now 20% complete. Concrete has been placed to the bottom of the original opening used for transporting the steam generators into and out of containment. Work now continues to prepare the upper section for rebar placement.
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THIS WEEK
Cane Island Unit 4
The construction team for Cane Island Unit 4 will conduct another backfeed on Wednesday and Thursday. A backfeed provides electricity into the unit to power auxiliaries and the turbine. The second backfeed since mid-July, this exercise will put electricity further into the unit for testing the main step-up transformers and auxiliary transformers. In other news, representatives from FMPA’s Operations and Project Development departments, as well as Zachry and Kissimmee Utility Authority, met last Wednesday to discuss the new unit’s continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS). Amy Deese recently attended the factory acceptance test for the CEMS and reviewed the results of that test as well as upcoming tasks necessary to achieve a safe and environmentally compliant start-up.
Member Service Advisory Committee
FMPA’s Member Service Advisory Committee meets Thursday in the Board room at 2 p.m. Participants will discuss associate membership in Electric Cities of Georgia. Contact: Mike Siefert
PSC Ten-Year Site Plan Workshop
Michele Jackson represents FMPA at the Florida Public Service Commission’s annual Ten-Year Site Plan Workshop on Thursday in Tallahassee.
All-Requirements Project Load
The All-Requirements Project’s peak for the month of July was 1,274 megawatts, which occurred July 27 between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Load factor is a measurement that compares the ratio of actual energy (MWh) used during a particular time period versus what would have been consumed if demand was at peak for the entire period. A higher load factor indicates more effective system utilization. The load factor for the All-Requirements Project for the month of July was 69%. The month’s peak was 88% of the budgeted peak and energy was 102% of budget. A graph showing the All-Requirements Project hourly load for July is available on the Member Portal. The weekly update of the All-Requirements Project historical load graph has also been posted. The weekly graph is updated through August 1. Contact: Jim Atz
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COMING UP
Integrated Resource Plan Workshop
FMPA staff are preparing for the All-Requirements Project’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Workshop scheduled for Aug. 12 in the Board room at 10 a.m. The purpose of the workshop is to present the preliminary results of the IRP and get Executive Committee feedback on recommendations for a preferred resource option. Contact: Michele Jackson
Project Management Workshop
FMPA hosts a two-day workshop about the Fundamentals of Effective Project Management on Oct. 13 and 14 in the Orlando office. The course provides participants with a practical approach to managing the resources, people, deadlines and real-world challenges required to complete projects on time, on target and on budget. The course costs $450 per person and is presented by Glen Whipple.