FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
May 11, 2015
LAST WEEK
ARP Executive Committee
The ARP Executive Committee met last Wednesday via conference call and approved: 1) a debt service amortization schedule for the permanent financing of the Taylor swaps termination costs, and 2) terminating two of the six remaining Taylor swaps. The approved amortization schedule has one year of interest-only payments and a final maturity date of 2031. The Executive Committee heard an informational report on a settlement-in-principal with General Electric and AEGIS for the Cane Island Unit 4 steam turbine damage claim. The full agenda package is available on the Member Portal. Contact: Nick Guarriello
Richards to Join FMPA
Nick Guarriello announced to the Executive Committee last Wednesday that Tom Richards will become a contract employee for FMPA effective June 1 serving as Executive Consultant. Tom will assume responsibility for member visitation, filling the position recently vacated by the retirement of Bud Boudreaux. Tom most recently served as the electric utility director for the city of Vero Beach and before that he retired from Fort Pierce Utilities Authority (FPUA). While with FPUA, Tom dedicated more than 20 years to FMPA and the All-Requirements Project, during which time he served as an officer of FMPA’s Board of Directors and committees.
THIS WEEK
St. Lucie Audit
FMPA’s Contract Compliance Auditors travel to Juno Beach, Fla., on Monday to begin an audit of billings from Florida Power & Light to FMPA’s St. Lucie Project. The auditors plan to be in the field for two weeks in May and June reviewing billings for calendar years 2013 and 2014. Contact: Rich Popp
Energy Auditors Roundtable
FMPA hosts an Energy Auditors Roundtable on Thursday at 10 a.m. at Fort Pierce Utilities Authority’s Energy Services Center. This semi-annual roundtable provides a forum for participants to discuss topics such as work procedures, policies and practices, industry changes, equipment and materials, and other topics of interest. Contact: Sharon Samuels
Cane Island Unit 3
Cane Island Unit 3 will be taken offline Saturday for a scheduled maintenance outage. Unit 3 is scheduled to come back online June 1. Contact: David Schumann
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 May 10. Contact: Jim Atz
Special Dates
Congratulations to Julie Clark, who celebrates seven years with FMPA on Tuesday, May 12.
Congratulations to Vickey Bidwell, who celebrates seven years with FMPA on Thursday, May 14.
Congratulations to Konrad Lisiewicz, who celebrates nine years with FMPA on Friday, May 15.
COMING UP
Business Planning and Budget Committee
The Business Planning and Budget Committee will meet May 20 at 9 a.m. in the Board room for its second review of the Agency’s proposed fiscal 2016 budget and its review of the Stanton, Stanton II and Tri-City project budgets. Contact: Mark Larson
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors will meet May 21 at 9:30 a.m. in the Board room. Contact: Nick Guarriello
ARP Executive Committee
The ARP Executive Committee will meet May 21 in the Board room at 10 a.m. or immediately following the Board of Directors. Contact: Nick Guarriello
FMEA Annual Conference
Registration is now open for the 2015 FMEA Annual Conference scheduled for July 21 through July 24 at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla. The conference kicks off July 21 with preconference seminars and a welcome reception. The following days feature general sessions and breakout sessions on a variety of industry topics, including: how to handle public records requests, controlling the impact on rates, examining inteal processes, and more. Visit FMEA’s http://publicpower.com/annual-conference/#registration>
INDUSTRY NEWS
Duke Buys Stake in Sabal Trail Pipeline
Duke Energy purchased a 7.5% ownership interest in the Sabal Trail Pipeline from Spectra Energy for $225 million. The 500-mile, $3 billion interstate natural gas pipeline will run from Tallapoosa County, Ala., to Osceola County, Fla., and is expected to begin operations in May 2017. Duke said the pipeline would supply fuel to its planned 1,640 MW natural gas power plant in Citrus County, which is expected to come online in 2018. The plant would receive up to 293 million cubic feet of natural gas daily for 25 years, with the option to purchase up to 98 million more cubic feet daily. In total, it would account for 35.5% of the pipeline capacity. Spectra Energy now owns nearly 60% of the proposed pipeline and NextEra Energy owns 33%.
McConnell: Congress Could Block Clean Power Plan
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Congress could utilize a section of the Clean Air Act to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan. McConnell made his remarks at an April 29 hearing to review the fiscal 2016 funding request and budget justification for EPA. The Clean Power Plan would require states to reduce carbon emissions from existing power plants from 2005 levels by 30% by 2030. Under EPA’s proposal, states would be required to submit state plans to the EPA in 2016 and begin to meet interim goals in 2020. McConnell said that one of EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s deputies told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that multi-state plans are a significant part of the strategy. Section 102(c) of the Clean Air Act requires Congressional consent for cooperative agreements, McConnell said. He added that the law states no such agreement or compact shall be binding or obligatory upon any state unless and until it has been approved by Congress. It remains unclear whether Section 102(c) of the Clean Air Act could be used to block multi-state agreements.
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 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
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
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