FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
March 6, 2017
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LAST WEEK
APPA Legislative Rally
Jacob Williams, Fred Bryant, Jody Finklea and Mark McCain participated in the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) annual Legislative Rally last week in Washington, D.C., along with more than 40 representatives from municipal electric utilities in Florida. While in the nation’s capital, they met with 15 Senate and House members or their staff to discuss energy issues, including tax reform, environmental policies and grid security. Photos from the meetings are posted on FMPA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Cane Island Unit 4
Cane Island Unit 4 was taken offline last week for a planned outage. It’s scheduled to come back online Friday. Contact: David Schumann
3 Phase Times
FMPA’s Power Resources Division published the January 2017 edition of 3 Phase Times. This monthly report provides information about the All-Requirements Project’s (ARP) system peak, hourly loads, resource fuel mix, natural gas usage, natural gas pricing and more performance information. The report shows that natural gas represented 81.6% of ARP’s total energy sources in January. ARP sold 77,455 MWh to the Florida Municipal Power Pool (FMPP) at an average price of $25.18 per MWh, which was lower than the estimated short-term forecast of 131,754 MWh. The FMPP Average Monthly Gas Dispatch Price in January was $3.45 per MMBtu, which is 23 cents lower than December’s average. For more information, download 3 Phase Times from the Portal. Contact: Frank Gaffney
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THIS WEEK
Welcome, Michelle Lauren
Michelle Lauren joins FMPA’s staff Monday as Human Resources Specialist. Michelle comes to FMPA from Siemens where she worked in human resources for five years. Previously, Michelle managed donor operations for Oprah’s Angel Network in Chicago. She has a bachelor’s degree in human resources and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Judson University. We are happy to have Michelle as a member of FMPA’s team. Contact: Sharon Adams
NERC Planning Committee Meeting
Carl Turner travels to Atlanta on Tuesday to attend the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) Planning Committee meeting. The committee will discuss the update of reliability guidelines, performance assessment and emerging issues for the upcoming quarter.
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 March 5. Contact: Jim Arntz
Special Dates
Congratulations to Denise Fuentes, who celebrates 11 years with FMPA on Monday, March 6.
Congratulations to Ian Beason, who celebrates one year with FMPA on Tuesday, March 7.
Congratulations to Brandon McCormick, who celebrates one year with FMPA on Tuesday, March 7.
Congratulations to Sue Utley, who celebrates 13 years with FMPA on Wednesday, March 8.
Congratulations to John Lee, who celebrates 30 years with FMPA on Thursday, March 9.
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COMING UP
March Goveing Board Meetings
The Audit and Risk Oversight Committee (AROC), Board of Directors and ARP Executive Committee will meet March 16 at FMPA’s Orlando office. The AROC will meet at 8:30 a.m., followed by the Board of Directors at 9:30 a.m. and the Executive Committee at 10 a.m. Contact: Jacob Williams
State Legislative Rally
The Florida Municipal Electric Association’s (FMEA) annual state Legislative Rally will be held March 27-28 in Tallahassee. This is an opportunity for members to meet with state legislators on electric utility issues. More information is available on FMEA’s website. Contact: Amy Zubaly at FMEA.
Florida Lineman Competition
There’s still time to get your team together and register for the 2017 Florida Lineman Competition to be held April 21-22 at Tiger Town in Lakeland. The competition is for lineworkers from all over the region to demonstrate their skills. Joueyman and apprentices can compete for professional recognition, attend training courses and practice essential skills in a safe environment. Competition and registration information is available on the Florida Municipal Electric Association’s website.
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INDUSTRY NEWS
FPL Announces Solar Plant Locations
Florida Power & Light (FPL) announced last Wednesday locations for eight previously announced solar projects. The utility plans to construct solar facilities in Putnam, Alachua, Indian River and DeSoto counties by the end of 2017. The next four plants will be in Brevard, Indian River, Hendry and St. Lucie counties by March 2018. Each installation will be 74.5 MW and cost approximately $130 million.
Cuts to EPA Budget Proposed
The Office of Finical Management and Budget suggested significant cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget last week, proposing that the agency reduce staff by a fifth and do away with dozens of programs. The Trump administration’s budget blueprint, which was released last Monday, called for funds to be redirected toward the military and national security. Grants to states for air and water programs would be cut by 30% under the proposal, and 38 different programs are recommended for elimination. Despite the proposed cuts, President Trump told a joint session of Congress last Tuesday that he was determined to promote clean air and clean water while in office.
Perry Confirmed as Energy Secretary
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry was confirmed last week as secretary of energy by a vote of 62-37. During his time as the longest serving goveor in Texas history, Perry was a champion of fossil fuels and oversaw a major expansion of wind capacity in the state.
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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 Sean Murtha 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 Sean Murtha
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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