FMPA Weekly | Oct. 10, 2016 | Member Edition

FMPA Weekly

 

A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members

 

Oct. 10, 2016

 

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LAST WEEK

 

FMPA Offices Closed

FMPA offices closed last Thursday at noon and stayed closed on Friday due to Hurricane Matthew. Essential personnel were still available. The offices re-opened Monday moing.

 

TCEC Back Online

Unit 1 at Treasure Coast Energy Center (TCEC) was shut down last Thursday afteoon ahead of Hurricane Matthew. Once the storm passed, an inspection showed there was no damage. The unit came back online Friday afteoon. Contact: David Schumann

 

ARP Telephonic Rate Workshop

The ARP Executive Committee’s monthly All-Requirements Project Rate Workshop was cancelled last Thursday due to Hurricane Matthew. The meeting package was emailed last Wednesday. If members have any questions, they can contact Jim Arntz.

 

New FDEP Rule

FMPA staff met last Monday to begin developing procedures for a new rule from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) that establishes notification protocols in the event of a pollution event. The rule specifies who must be notified and by when. There are specific requirement to notify local govement officials, news media and local property owners. Staff is available to assist members with compliance. Contact: Frank Gaffney

 

APPA’s DEED Program

FMPA paid dues on behalf of its members for the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) research and development program called Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments (DEED). FMPA’s joint action agency membership allows 22 FMPA members who are also APPA members to have full access to the DEED program and benefits. FMPA members do not have to pay individual DEED dues, which can range from a few hundred dollars to $15,000. DEED pools resources to fund innovative utility research and demonstration projects. Some of the DEED benefits include access to the DEED project database, plus grants, scholarships, products, awards, points toward APPA’s RP3 designation and more. Visit APPA’s website for more information on DEED. Contact: Sharon Smeenk

 

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THIS WEEK

 

Member City Visits

Jacob Williams and Mark McCain travel to Leesburg and Ocala on Monday for member city visits. On Tuesday, Jacob will visit FMPA’s Tallahassee office and the Town of Havana. On Thursday, Jacob and Mark travel to Bushnell.

Gov. Scott Meets with Utilities

 Gov. Rick Scott has invited leaders from Florida’s electric utilities to a dinner at the Goveor’s Mansion on Thursday. An agenda has not been announced, but the topic is expected be how utilities can work together following a natural disaster, like a hurricane. The event was arranged prior to Hurricane Matthew. Barry Moline from the Florida Municipal Electric Association and FMPA’s Jacob Williams will attend. Other representatives from municipal electric utilities who received an invitation are encourage to participate. 

 

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COMING UP

 

Policy Makers Liaisons Committee

The Policy Makers Liaisons Committee will meet Oct. 19 at Ocala City Hall at 1 p.m. In addition to the regular meeting agenda, the committee will lea about Ocala’s advanced metering infrastructure system. Contact: Mark McCain

 

Governing Board Meetings

FMPA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee will meet Oct. 20 in the Board room at FMPA’s Orlando office. The Board of Directors will meet at 9 a.m., and the Executive Committee will meet at 9:30, or immediately following the Board of Directors meeting. Contact: Jacob Williams

 

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INDUSTRY NEWS

 

Electric Utilities Work Hard to Restore Power after Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew roughed up the east coast of Florida last Thursday and Friday knocking out power to 1.13 million, or 11%, of the state’s electric customers. By Monday moing, the number of Florida homes and businesses without power was down to approximately 176,000, or 2%. The largest number of remaining outages were in the counties of Flagler with 30% of customers without power, Volusia with 16% out, and Duval with 29% out. Florida Power & Light said Saturday that it was on track to complete power restoration to essentially all customers by the end of Sunday, while pockets that have been flooded and severely damaged may take until Monday. Duke Energy Florida also expected to have the bulk of its customers back on-line by Sunday. Among municipals with hurricane-related outages, 11 cities restored all customers in one day, and another city restored all customers within two days. As of mid-day Sunday, four more municipals were nearing complete restoration, leaving the hardest hit areas of New Smya Beach with 40% of customers still out and JEA with 28% of customers out. Mutual aid crews came from across the nation and Florida to assist with power restoration. Existing utility staffs grew by three to four times with the visiting assistance, according to the Florida Municipal Electric Association, which coordinated the mutual aid.

 

FPL Agrees to Reduce Rate-Hike Request

Florida Power & Light (FPL) has agreed to reduce its multi-year, base-rate increase request to approximately 62% of what the utility had originally requested. A settlement agreement filed last Thursday with the Florida Public Service Commission was signed by FPL and three intervenors: the state Office of Public Counsel, the Florida Retail Federation, and the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association. The filing contains a request for the Commission to rule by Nov. 30 so that the terms can take effect Jan. 1. The settlement provides for a cumulative $811 million retail base-rate increase, compared to the original request of $1.3 billion, over a four-year period from January 2017 to December 2020. The phased increases include a $400 million increase on Jan. 1, 2017, $211 million on Jan. 1, 2018, and $200 million coinciding with commercial operation of the Okeechobee power plant planned for June 2019. The rate increases are based on an authorized Retu on Equity (ROE) of 10.55%, which is slightly above the current authorized ROE of 10.5%. The authorized ROE has a range of 9.6% to 11.6%. The settlement permits FPL to implement base-rate increases on investments associated with the installation of up to 300 MW of solar generation capacity annually during the four-year period, subject to a cost cap of $1,750 per kilowatt. The settlement also allows FPL to amortize up to $1 billion of depreciation reserve surplus plus any excess depreciation reserve surplus remaining under the 2012 Rate Order so as to ea an ROE within the approved range. FPL’s prior rate orders have included a similar feature that has allowed the utility to consistently ea close to the upper end of its approved ROE range. The recovery menchanism on storm restoration on costs remains largely unchanged from what is in place today of up to $4 per 1,000 kWh.

 

Regulators Approve FPL’s Plan to Buy, Close Indiantown Coal Plant

Florida Power & Light (FPL) received approval last Monday to buy a second coal-fired power plant that they intend to close. The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) supported plans by the utility to spend $451.5 million of ratepayers’ money to purchase the 330 MW Indiantown Cogeneration plant in Martin County from Calypso Energy Holdings LLC. FPL officials say they anticipate the deal will save customers $129 million over nine years. FPL plans to reduce output from the coal-fired plant and eventually decommission it. This plan is similar to a previous case the PSC approved in 2015 for FPL to purchase the coal-fired Cedar Bay power plant in Jacksonville.

 

FPL Begins Salt Plume Cleanup at Turkey Point Nuclear Plant

Florida Power & Light (FPL) has begun work to reduce a plume of highly salty water extending from its Turkey Point nuclear power plant located south of Miami, according to the Key West Citizen. FPL and the Florida Department of Environment Protection signed a consent order last June detailing a long-term plan to remove hyper-saline water from undeeath and near the cooling canal system at Turkey Point. Under terms spelled out in a 27-page order, FPL has 10 years to fix water quality problems stemming from the 168-mile earthen cooling canal system at the power plant. The plan calls for FPL to halt and retract the salty water plume caused by the canals, plus update and expand its monitoring network. FPL is also being required to complete restoration projects in the Barge Basin and Turtle Point Canal areas where surface waters connect to the Bay. FPL said the plan will cost an estimated $50 million this year, but it is not known yet what the total costs will be during the 10-year period. An FPL customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month will pay approximately 25 cents to 50 cents per month this year toward fixing the problems, FPL said.

 

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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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Tel 407 355-7767
Fax 407 355-5794
http://www.fmpa.com
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