FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
June 27, 2011
LAST WEEK
Venue Changed for Lawsuit
The venue for Lake Worth’s lawsuit against FMPA was changed June 10 from Palm Beach County to Leon County. A motion to transfer based on improper venue was filed May 6 by FMPA and subsequently agreed to by Lake Worth. The case, which conces who should pay for certain natural gas transportation for the city’s Smith Plant, will be transferred to the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County. FMPA will have 20 days after the matter is transferred to file its responsive pleading to the complaint.
BreadBasket Youth Computer Center Grand Opening
The Central Florida Community BreadBasket’s Youth Computer Center, sponsored in part by companies building Cane Island Unit 4, held its grand opening June 16. The BreadBasket, a non-profit food bank serving more than 1,200 needy families per day, is developing a youth outreach program by opening the computer center. The center is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and soon will accommodate up to 24 computer users.
Cane Island Unit 4
Cane Island Unit 4 completed a significant milestone last Saturday toward commercial operation when the unit successfully completed the reliability run as part of its performance testing. The unit also has passed performance tests for air emissions, noise and steam purity. Unit 4 is currently offline for scheduled maintenance and will be ready for final certification and commercial operation once the maintenance is complete. Contact: David Schumann
Reliability Annual Report
Florida’s municipal electric utilities on average have quicker repair times following electrical outages than investor-owned utilities and have done so for the past eight years, according to an annual reliability report issued last week by FMPA. FMPA’s Distribution Reliability Program collects reliability data monthly from municipal utilities. Participating utilities submit data and receive a monthly report that enables them to compare their performance with other utilities. Once a year, the data is compiled into an annual report that includes comparisons with statistics from investor-owned utilities. FMPA’s program started with eight utilities in 2003 and has grown to 23 participants in 2010. Utilities interested in participating should contact Mike Siefert for assistance with getting started in the program.
THIS WEEK
Crystal River Unit 3 Participants Meeting
Progress Energy Florida will host a meeting for Crystal River Unit 3 participants on Monday at 10:30 a.m. in the Emergency Operations Facility and Training Center in Crystal River. The purpose of the meeting is to provide a status report on Unit 3, which remains in dry lay-up due to containment wall delamination.
St. Lucie Project Revenue Bonds
FMPA will close this Tuesday on $59.175 million of St. Lucie Project revenue bonds. The Series A bonds of $34.870 million will be used to refund auction-rate securities tendered by Citi, and the Series B bonds of $24.305 million will fund FMPA’s portion of capital expenses associated with a 103 MW uprate of St. Lucie Unit 2. The fixed-rate bonds will have a net-interest cost of 4.24%. Contact: Janet Davis
Member City Visits
Bud Boudreaux travels to Bartow on Monday to meet with City Manager George Long. He will visit Williston on Tuesday to meet with Interim City Manager Oel Wingo. On Thursday, Bud travels to Kissimmee Utility Authority to meet with General Manager Jim Welsh and KUA Board member Dr. George Gant.
Peer Review
FMPA is conducting a peer review this week for the customer service operation of a member. FMPA’s Peer Review program allows municipal electric utilities to request an independent review of its policies, procedures and practices in specific functional areas. Reviews are conducted by subject-matter experts from municipal systems around Florida. After the assessment is complete, a report is developed with observations and recommendations. Contact: Mike Siefert
All-Requirements Project Weekly Load Statistics
The weekly update of the All-Requirements Project historical load graph has been posted on the Member Portal. The graph is updated through June 26. Contact: Jim Atz
COMING UP
Independence Day Holiday
FMPA’s offices will be closed Monday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!
2011 FMEA-FMPA Annual Conference
The 2011 FMEA-FMPA Annual Conference will be held July 19-21 at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla. On July 19, the conference kicks off with two pre-conference seminars: 1) electric utility 101, and 2) crisis communications. The following days feature general sessions and breakout sessions on a variety of important and timely topics. The final day to reserve a hotel room at the discounted conference rate is today, June 27. Visit Registrationhttp://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=974697>Registration; is required. Visit NGSA’s” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.ngsa.org/Assets/press%20release%20on%20the%20summer%20outlook%20r.pdf>NGSA’s website to read the full 2011 Summer Outlook Report.
APPA Honors Lakeland’s Jim Stanfield and Ocala’s Matt Brower
Lakeland Electric General Manager Jim Stanfield and Ocala City Manager Matt Brower were recognized last week during the American Public Power Association’s national conference. Stanfield received the James D. Donovan Individual Achievement Award for the significant contributions he has made to the electric utility industry. As General Manager, Stanfield has trimmed $11 million annually in operations and management costs, while boosting employee satisfaction from 59% to 71%. Ocala City Manager Matt Brower received the Robert E. Roundtree Rising Star Award, which recognizes future leaders of public power systems. When Brower arrived in Ocala in 2008 as assistant city manager, the utility had one of the highest power costs in the state. Brower managed to reduce and stabilize rates and increased customer satisfaction through numerous policy revisions, efficiency measures and productivity enhancements. Brower was named city manager earlier this year.
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 Ryan Dumas or Ashley Tinstman 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: Ryan Dumas or Ashley Tinstman
Florida Municipal Power Agency
8553 Commodity Circle
Orlando, FL 32819-9002
Tel 407 355-7767
Fax 407 355-5794
http://www.fmpa.com;
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