FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Sept. 19, 2016
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LAST WEEK
Post-Hurricane Electric Restoration
Complete restoration of Tallahassee’s electric system was achieved last week, six days after Hurricane Hermine knocked out electricity to approximately 80% of the city’s customers. Four days after the category one storm used Tallahassee’s famed tree canopy to devastate the electric system, 90% of customers were in service. An analysis by FMPA’s Frank Gaffney and Navid Nowakhtar showed that this restoration was faster than the hardest hit areas of similar strength storms in past years. Tallahassee was aided in its restoration by nine utilities, including municipal electric utilities and an investor-owned utility. Despite these positives, there has been public criticism, much of it fueled by politics, state govement officials and social media. A news article headlined “Hurricane Hermine exposes political tensions in Tallahassee explains the behind-the-scenes politics and motives that have been inserted into this disaster recovery effort. The city of Tallahassee is planning to review the restoration effort with the goal of enhancing planning for future storms. Separately, a community group has been formed to examine best practices for hurricane recovery, and Gov. Rick Scott reportedly is considering calling a meeting of utility CEOs to explore how utilities can work together more. Contact: Jacob Williams
Executive Committee Workshop
The Executive Committee held a workshop last Wednesday to review the withdrawal cost estimate protocols related to Section 29 of the All-Requirements Project contract. Contact: Jacob Williams
Audit and Risk Oversight Committee
The Audit and Risk Oversight Committee (AROC) met last Thursday and approved: 1) annual review and assessment of the AROC charter, 2) vendor risk review recommendation, 3) regulatory assets and liabilities, and 4) audit reports for Stanton Energy Center Units 1 and 2 as well as Indian River Combustion Turbine Units A, B, C and D. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact:Rich Popp
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors met last Thursday and approved: 1) selection of Swap Financial Group, LLC as FMPA’s swap advisor, 2) amendments to the fiscal 2016 budgets for the Stanton, Stanton II, Tri-City and St. Lucie projects, and, 3) the Board officers’ annual performance evaluations for Nick Guarriello and Fred Bryant. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
ARP Executive Committee
The ARP Executive Committee met last Thursday and approved: 1) All-Requirements Project contract Section 29 withdrawal payment substantially final estimate for Vero Beach, 2) an amendment to the KEYS TARP Operations and Maintenance Agreement, 3) selection of Swap Financial Group, LLC as FMPA’s swap advisor, and 4) appointment of Jacob Williams to serve as FMPA’s representative to the Florida Gas Utility Board of Directors. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
Member City Visit
Jacob Williams and Mark McCain met last Friday with Vero Beach City Manager Jim O’Connor for a member city visit.
Cane Island Unit 3
Cane Island Unit 3 was taken offline last Saturday for a scheduled maintenance outage. Crews will perform a major overhaul of the gas turbine, a minor overhaul of the steam turbine, electrical testing on the steam turbine generator and other work. The outage is scheduled to last 30 days. Contact: David Schumann
Cane Island Power Park Employee Honored
Cane Island Power Park Operations and Maintenance Manager Jason Terry was recognized by Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) for completing his master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Florida. Cane Island is jointly owned by FMPA and KUA.
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THIS WEEK
Member City Visits
Jacob Williams, Frank Gaffney and Mark McCain travel to Fort Pierce on Monday and to Clewiston on Tuesday for member city visits. While in Fort Pierce, they will tour the Treasure Coast Energy Center, and Jacob will speak Monday night to the Fort Pierce City Commission. On Thursday, Frank and Jacob travel to Jacksonville Beach for a member city visit.
Market Research Task Force
The Market Research Task Force for FMPA’s solar photovoltaic project meets Tuesday at 2 p.m. via conference call to evaluate proposals received for market research services. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Communicators Roundtable
FMPA and the Florida Municipal Electric Association host a Communicators Roundtable on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at FMPA’s Orlando office. The roundtable will include a presentation by Jennifer Fennell of Core Message, a Tallahassee-based communications and public relations firm. Also on the agenda is a discussion about post-hurricane communications and other topics suggested by communications and marketing professionals at public power utilities. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Meter Tech Roundtable
Wednesday is the registration deadline for FMPA’s Meter Tech Roundtable scheduled for Sept. 29 at Kissimmee Utility Authority. The roundtable provides a forum for meter technicians and maintenance staff to discuss topics such as operating procedures, equipment, safety, training and more. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
All-Requirements Project Weekly Load Statistics
The weekly update of the All-Requirements Project historical load graph has been posted on the Portal. The graph is updated through Sept. 18. Contact: Jim Arntz
Special Dates
Congratulations to Mark Larson, who celebrates 14 years with FMPA on Sunday, Sept. 25.
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COMING UP
Advanced Metering Initiative
Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG) is supporting the development of two Advanced Metering Initiative (AMI) pilot projects on behalf of its Georgia cities. The pilots are designed to test two different technologies and assist ECG members with their local strategies for deploying AMI. As part of the FMPA-ECG Alliance, ECG has extended an invitation to Florida cities to join the Georgia cities at information meeting on the projects. The presentations will be held Sept. 27 in two south-Georgia cities of Fitzgerald and Douglas. For more information or to RSVP, contact Sharon Smeenk.
Public Power Week
The annual Public Power Week celebration is scheduled for Oct. 2 through Oct. 8. This annual event is a great time for local utilities to reach out to citizens in their communities to communicate the unique benefits of public power. It’s not too late to participate because the American Public Power Association has created many tools, tips and templates that are available at www.PublicPower.org/PublicPowerWeek. The resources include sample fact sheets, press releases, social media content, infographics, bill stuffers, videos and more. Want more ideas for community events? Read this article to see what utilities did last year.
Excellence as a Supervisor
There’s still time to register for the first module of Excellence as a Supervisor training scheduled for Oct. 4 and Oct. 5 at FMPA’s Orlando office. The training is designed to provide supervisors or prospective supervisors with the skills necessary to be effective leaders. Training is divided into two series consisting of three modules each. The cost for the first series is $1,100. The program is open to utility and city employees. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
APPA Legal and Regulatory Conference
Registration is open for the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Legal and Regulatory Conference to be held Oct. 16 through Oct. 19 in Long Beach, Calif. The annual conference is for attoeys, regulatory affairs specialists and compliance officers to lea about current legal and regulatory issues affecting public power. Dan O’Hagan and Amanda Swindle are scheduled to make a presentation about regulations that require utilities to protect critical infrastructure information but how conflicts exist with federal and state public records laws. Visit APPA’s website for registration information.
October Meetings
As previously announced, FMPA’s goveing board meetings originally scheduled for Oct. 27 have been moved to Oct. 20 at FMPA’s Orlando office. Contact: Jacob Williams
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Tallahassee Task Force Formed to Examine Hurricane Hermine Response
A group of Tallahassee citizens created an ad hoc task force to examine the city’s response to Hurricane Hermine. The Post-Hurricane Recovery Best Practices Task Force was formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Hermine, which left many Tallahassee residents without power for several days and prompted public criticism of recovery efforts. The 12-person group will focus on reviewing the city’s chain of command, enhancing communications with citizens and clarifying priorities for restoring power. The group is chaired by former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and supported by Citizens for Responsible Spending, a Tallahassee group originally formed to address city budget issues. Florida Municipal Electric Association Executive Director Barry Moline will serve the task force in an advisory role. The group hopes to offer its recommendations by Oct. 7.
Florida Removed from CSAPR Requirements
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized updates to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) on Sept. 7 that removed Florida from the list of states required to participate. The original rule established tighter restrictions on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants in 28 states. The final rule impacts 22 states. In addition to Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina were also removed based on modeling that indicated the states do not contribute significantly to ozone air quality problems in downwind states. The new rules are effective May 2017 and will impact more than 2,800 generating units at 886 coal, natural gas and oil-fueled power plants.
FPL Proposes to Pay $451 Million for a Coal-Fired Power Plant
Florida Power & Light (FPL) filed a proposal at the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) requesting approval to pay $451 million for the 330 MW Indiantown Cogeneration facility located in Martin County. FPL currently has a power-purchase agreement with the owner, Calypso Energy Holdings, LLC. If the purchase is approved, FPL plans to reduce output from the coal-fired plant and eventually decommission it. FPL says the plan will save money for its customers and reduce emission. After decommissioning, the utility said it might use the plant site for future natural gas or solar generation. The proposal is similar to a previous case that the PSC approved in 2015 for FPL to purchase the coal-fired Cedar Bay power plant in Jacksonville. The Office of Public Counsel and the Florida Industrial Power Users group have filed objections with the PSC, saying FPL has not shown that its plan to close the plant is the most cost–effective option and that it would shift the risk of operating a coal plant to ratepayers. The PSC is scheduled Oct. 3 to begin a two-day hearing on the proposal.
Gov. Scott Appoints Donald Polmann to PSC
Gov. Rick Scott appointed Pinellas County engineer Donald Polmann last Thursday to a spot on the Florida Public Service Commission. Polmann, 59, of Dunedin, will replace longtime Commissioner Lisa Edgar, whose term expires at the end of this year. Edgar did not seek reappointment to the five-member panel. Scott chose Polmann over two other finalists for the job, Gainesville City Commissioner Todd Chase and Florida SouthWeste State College professor Cynthia Wilson Odoff. Polmann, whose appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate, is a consultant in civil and environmental engineering and formerly worked for Tampa Bay Water. The appointment is a four-year term that pays $131,000 a year.
Idaho Site Identified for Small Modular Nuclear Reactor
Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a preferred site for the potential deployment of up to 12 small modular nuclear reactors (SMR). The location is in DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory site near Falls, Idaho. UAMPS officials said they plan to decide in the first quarter of 2017 whether to start the application process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The 50 MW reactors are being developed by NuScale Power. UAMPS has 45 members in Utah, Idaho, Califoia, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming.
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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.
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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