FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Sept. 6, 2016
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LAST WEEK
AROC Special Meeting
The Audit and Risk Oversight Committee (AROC) held a special meeting last Wednesday for an entrance conference with the exteal auditors. The conference gave committee members an opportunity to speak one-on-one with their auditors without FMPA staff present. The auditors from Purvis, Gray & Company will begin their year-end audit in October. Contact: Rich Popp
Special Finance Team Meeting
FMPA’s Finance Team held a special meeting last Thursday to review procedures for bond issuance disclosure. New procedures went into effect last year, and since then, the policy has been tested through several refinance issuances. Staff plans to make recommendations for policy enhancements that will be presented to the Audit and Risk Oversight Committee, Board of Directors and ARP Executive Committee. Contact: Mark Larson
Treasure Coast Energy Center
Treasure Coast Energy Center Unit 1 was taken offline last Monday to repair a tube leak in the high-pressure superheater. The repair was coordinated with Florida Energy Marketing to minimize the impact on Florida Municipal Power Pool members. The unit was brought back online Wednesday night. Contact: David Schumann
Solar Market Research
FMPA received six proposals last Friday in response to a Request for Proposals for Market Research Services related to the joint-action solar PV project. Thirteen FMPA members are participating in the survey project. The selected firm will help develop and implement a survey of customers in those cities about their attitudes toward solar power. The Market Research Task Force will meet Sept. 20 to rank the proposals. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
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THIS WEEK
Welcome, Navid Nowakhtar
Please welcome Navid Nowakhtar, FMPA’s new Generation Planning Engineer III, who joins the staff on Tuesday. Navid comes to FMPA from nFront Consulting. Previously, he worked at Leidos where he served as an economic consultant. We are happy to have Navid as a member of the FMPA team.
Davis Retires
FMPA Treasury Manager Janet Davis retires this Wednesday after 17 years of service to the Agency. We wish her all the best.
ARP Telephonic Rate Workshop
The ARP Executive Committee meets Thursday at 2 p.m. via conference call for the monthly All-Requirements Project Rate Workshop. The agenda includes: 1) natural gas markets update, 2) liquidity update, 3) an overview of August operations, loads, costs and rate calculations, and 4) estimated rate ranges for September and October. Contact: Jim Arntz
Member Services Visits
Tom Richards and Sharon Smeenk travel to Alachua and Williston on Thursday for member city visits.
Special Dates
Congratulations to Cairo Vanegas, who celebrates two years with FMPA on Thursday, Sept. 8.
Congratulations to Ann Beckwith, who celebrates 15 years with FMPA on Saturday, Sept. 10.
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COMING UP
October Meeting Date Changed
A decision has been made to change the date of FMPA’s October goveing board meetings from Oct. 27 to Oct. 20. The meetings will be held Oct. 20 at FMPA’s Orlando office. Contact: Nick Guarriello
Lineman Roundtable
FMPA has scheduled the next Lineman Roundtable for Oct. 6 at Bushnell City Hall. The meeting is open to all levels of line crew personnel as well as any utility staff member. The roundtable provides a forum for lineworkers to exchange ideas on operating practices, safety, training, tools, equipment and more. Registration is available until Sept. 29 on FMPA’s website. Contact: Sharon Samuels
Meal Per Diem Calculator
The Federal Govement’s GSA has issued per diem rates for fiscal 2017 beginning Oct. 1. The meal rates for Florida are the same as fiscal 2016. Richard Montgomery will verify meal rates for all of the lower 48 continental states, which are included in the GSA rates. Richard is exploring some enhancements to FMPA’s Meal Per Diem Calculator to make it even easier to use. The new calculator will be posted before the end of September on the Portal, where it can be downloaded by Executive Committee members and staff for travel in fiscal 2017. Contact: Mark McCain
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Hurricane Hermine Knocks Out Power to an Estimated 158,000 in Florida
An estimated 158,000 homes in North and Central Florida were without electricity a day after Hurricane Hermine swept through parts of the state. Nearly half of the homes without power were in Leon County. In coastal Wakulla County, where the storm made landfall early Friday, 72% of the homes remained without power Saturday moing. Gov. Rick Scott, in a prepared statement, said he expected “every city and county official to aggressively fix the power outages. Leon County, which includes Tallahassee, reportedly had 78,809 homes without power early Saturday, which was 57% of its residential property. Wakulla County, with 11,771 homes without power, was the only other county with more than 10,000 homes lacking electricity. As restoration efforts continued Sunday, local officials told Gov. Scott that more than 90% of the electricity should be back on across Leon County by Monday and 98% by Wednesday. Crews from municipal utilities in Bartow, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee, Lafayette, La. Lakeland, Orlando and Thomasville, Ga., along with crews from Gulf Power joined in the restoration efforts in Tallahassee. Crews from Bartow, Fort Pierce and Key West helped with restoring power in Gainesville and Jacksonville. Crews from Ocala were sent to help restore power in Newberry.
Voters Approve Renewable Energy Tax Breaks
Florida voters approved a new constitutional amendment in last Tuesday’s primary that expands renewable-energy tax breaks, which is expected to encourage the installation of more solar energy. The measure, known as Amendment 4, was placed on the ballot by the Legislature. Now that the amendment has been approved by voters, the next step is for the Legislature to enact it. The measure exempts for 20 years the assessed value of solar and renewable-energy devices installed on businesses and industrial properties. Voters approved a similar exemption for residential property owners in 2008, with the measure taking effect in 2014. The new proposal also has an element to help residential property owners, as it would exempt all renewable-energy equipment from state tangible personal property taxes.
FPL Rate Hearings End
Two weeks of hearings into Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) base-rate increase request ended last Thursday, one day earlier than scheduled. The nine-day hearing at the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) included 50 witnesses and more than 800 exhibits. FPL is asking for a $1.3 billion base-rate increase. FPL has requested approval for three increases over four years: 1) $866 million beginning January 2017, 2) $262 million beginning January 2018, 3) $209 million in 2019 when its Okeechobee County plant begins commercial operation, which is planned for June 1, and 4) no rate increase in 2020. The PSC is expected to release a preliminary decision on Oct. 27, and a final vote is planned on Nov. 29.
TECO, Duke File Energy Rate Changes for 2017
Customers of Tampa Electric Company (TECO) could see a rate decrease in January 2017 while customers of Duke Energy Florida could see an increase, according to filings made last Thursday at the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) for semi-annual energy rate adjustments. The utilities made filings for fuel costs and other expenses, which the PSC will consider in hearings this fall. TECO residential customers using 1,000 kWh per month could see a decrease to $104.68 from the current rate of $106.22, a 1.4% reduction. Duke has requested a rate increase to $116.15, up from $111.76, a 4% increase.
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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 Jeff Grainger or Nikki Bloomfield 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: Jeff Grainger or Nikki Bloomfield.
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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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