FMPA Weekly | Feb. 11, 2013 | Member Edition

FMPA Weekly

 

A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members

 

Feb. 11, 2013

 


 

LAST WEEK

 


Winter Park Power Supply Bid

FMPA, Lakeland Electric and Orlando Utilities Commission submitted on Jan. 31 a joint response to the city of Winter Park’s power supply invitation to negotiate. Winter Park is seeking to purchase up to 40 MW of wholesale power beginning Jan. 1, 2014. Winter Park’s process is an invitation to negotiate, rather than the more common request for proposals. The city is currently reviewing responses and plans to notify two or more respondents within the next two weeks about plans to negotiate. Contact: Tom Reedy

 


Financing Discussions

Members of FMPA’s Finance Department met with banks last week to discuss credit for FMPA’s upcoming finance transactions. Mark Larson, Janet Davis and Ed Nunez met with micrositehttp://www.whypublicpower.org/>microsite;, online articles, posters and advertising. FMPA hopes to lea from WPPI’s experience as FMPA plans communication activities during 2013 to mark the Agency’s 35th anniversary. Contact: Mark McCain

 


HVAC Upgrade

FMPA begins contract negotiations with TLC Engineering for Architecture on Thursday to oversee replacement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) at FMPA’s Orlando office. FMPA selected TLC as the top-ranked firm to serve as the owner’s representative during the replacement process. FMPA’s Facilities staff met last Thursday to discuss goals for the HVAC system in preparation for the meeting. Contact: Sharon Smeenk

 

CAPE Software Training 

Members of FMPA’s Transmission Planning and Operations departments meet with representatives from Electrocon throughout the week to receive training on Computer-Aided Protection Engineering (CAPE) software. The system protection database and modeling software will allow FMPA to provide short-circuit analysis for its members. The training is in anticipation of new websitehttp://publicpower.com/>website; to register.

 


 

INDUSTRY NEWS

 


Crystal River Unit 3 Retired

Progress Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, announced last Tuesday that it will retire Crystal River Unit 3. The nuclear unit has been offline since late 2009 when its concrete containment wall cracked during a maintenance and upgrade project. Company officials said fixing the unit could take nearly three years and cost between $1.5 billion and $3.4 billion. Costs already generated by the unit’s outage include $338 million for repairs and $614 million for purchases of replacement power. The company plans a slow decommissioning process that essentially places the reactor in long-term storage for 40 to 60 years, instead of the costlier process of dismantling portions of the plant and moving them elsewhere. The closure means Progress must refund customers $100 million under a prior settlement between the utility and consumer advocates. That settlement calls for the refund in 2015 and 2016 if repairs had not begun by the end of 2012. The company is reviewing options to replace the power produced by the unit, including the potential construction of a new natural gas-fueled plant.

 


Public Counsel Appealing FPL Rate Hike to Florida Supreme Court

Nearly two months after the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a controversial base-rate increase for Florida Power & Light (FPL), the state lawyer representing Florida’s utility customers said he will challenge the decision at the Florida Supreme Court. State Public Counsel J.R. Kelly’s office filed a notice last Thursday that is the first step in appealing the rate increase. FPL received a $350 million increase effective in January that allows further rate increases when three new power plants begin commercial operation. The dispute centers on a settlement that FPL reached last August with a group of its major power users. That settlement, which did not include the Office of Public Counsel, served as the basis for the rate hike approved by state regulators in December. The Office of Public Counsel contends that a settlement such as FPL’s cannot move forward unless the Public Counsel agrees to it as well. The rate increase remains in effect during the appeal.

 


Tampa Electric Files Notice of Base Rate Increase Request for 2014

Tampa Electric Co. filed a notice last Monday with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) stating its intent to seek a base rate increase of $135 million effective January 2014. If approved as filed, the monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kWh would increase about $11, or 10%, to $113 per month. The six-page notice is the first step in a months-long process of seeking PSC approval. Tampa Electric expects to file a detailed rate proposal in April, and regulators will later hold hearings to examine company financial and technical information. Monday’s notice indicated that Tampa Electric will ask regulators to approve an 11.25% retu on equity, which would be a continuation of the company’s current target.

 



 


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 Allison Briggs 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 Allison Briggs

 


  

Florida Municipal Power Agency
8553 Commodity Circle
Orlando, FL 32819-9002
Tel 407 355-7767
Fax 407 355-5794
http://www.fmpa.com/>www.fmpa.com;

Community Power. Statewide Strength. ®