FMPA Weekly | Feb. 24, 2014 | Member Edition

Member Survey Deadline Extended

FMPA has extended the deadline for the biennial Board of Directors Member Relations Survey to encourage more responses. All Board members are urged to complete the survey as soon as possible. The seven-question survey should take less than five minutes to complete. A link to the online survey was emailed by Nick Guarriello to Board members. Survey results will be shared with members and staff in April. Contact: Mark McCain

Meter Technician Conference Call

A steering committee of representatives from FMPA’s member cities meets Monday via conference call to discuss the creation of a meter technician certification program. Discussion topics include: 1) review proposed implementation plan, 2) feedback from utility management, 3) process for developing letter of intent/formal commitment from members, and 4) next steps. Contact: Sharon Smeenk

Member City Visits
 

Fred Bryant and Bud Boudreaux travel to Newberry on Monday for a member city visit with Mayor Bill Conrad, City Manager Keith Ashby and Utility Director Blaine Suggs. On Thursday, Fred and Bud travel to Williston to meet with City Manager Scott Lippmann.

Excellence as a Supervisor

FMPA hosts the second module of Excellence as a Supervisor on Tuesday and Wednesday at FMPA’s Orlando office. This training program is available to FMPA members as part of the alliance between FMPA and Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG). The training is designed to provide supervisors or prospective supervisors with the skills necessary to be effective leaders. The program is open to utility and city employees. Contact: Sharon Smeenk

Substation Training and Consulting Services

APPA Legislative Rally

All-Requirements Project Weekly Load Statistics

IT Community Roundtable

Joint Purchase Project

FMPA’s Joint Purchase Project will meet March 13 at 10 a.m. in FMPA’s first-floor conference room. Contact: Sharon Samuels

INDUSTRY NEWS

FERC, NERC to consider Need for Standards to Protect against Physical Attacks

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Acting Chairman Cheryl LaFleur has directed commission staff to work with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to evaluate whether mandatory standards are needed to protect against physical attacks on electric infrastructure, she told senators on Feb. 11. She recommended that Congress enhance the confidentiality of sensitive security information on cyber and physical threats by enacting an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act. Congress also should consider designating a federal agency with clear and direct authority to require actions in the event of—or before—an emergency involving a physical or cyber threat to the bulk power system, LaFleur said in letters to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Select Committee on Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy Chairman Al Franken, and Sen. Ron Wyden, who recently moved from heading the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to chairing the Finance Committee. In a Feb. 7 letter, the senators had asked FERC and NERC to determine whether additional physical security standards for critical substations are needed.