FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
May 15, 2017
__________________________________________________________
LAST WEEK
Vero Beach
Florida Power & Light (FPL) and the City of Vero Beach released a Letter of Intent last Wednesday for the purchase of the city’s electric system. FPL’s proposed purchase price is $185 million, which includes an amount not to exceed $108 million for FMPA to release Vero Beach from its FMPA contractual obligations. The Vero Beach City Council meets this Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. to hear from FPL about the proposal. Jacob Williams, Jody Finklea and Mark McCain will attend the meeting. Jacob will make a presentation about FMPA’s recent efforts to assist the city with FMPA’s preliminary option to help Vero exit its FMPA project obligations. Contact: Jacob Williams
Stanton Participants Meeting
A group of FMPA staff members attended a Stanton Energy Center participants meeting last Thursday at the plant site in Orlando. The group discussed capital improvements, environmental permitting and budgets. These topics will be discussed with FMPA’s members on June 15 at meetings for the Stanton, Tri-City and Stanton II project participants. Contact: David Schumann
2016 Annual Report
FMPA’s fiscal 2016 Annual Report was printed last Thursday. The report titled, “It’s a Good Time, With No Time to Rest, will be distributed to members, staff and business associates this month. Contact: Mark McCain
Engineering Services RFQ
Five firms were shortlisted last week for the consulting engineer of record portion of FMPA’s Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for engineering services issued in March. Nine firms were shortlisted for the resource planning portion of the RFQ. The shortlisted firms will be notified this week, and interviews will be scheduled. Shortlists will be developed this week for: 1) substation, transmission and distribution engineering, and 2) transmission planning, electric power plant engineering and power system analysis. The full RFQ is available for download on FMPA.com. Contact: Michele Jackson
__________________________________________________________
THIS WEEK
St. Lucie Audit
Liyuan Woener and Ellen Leatherman travel to Juno Beach to conduct the biennial St. Lucie Project audit.
Business Planning and Budget Committee
FMPA’s Business Planning and Budget Committee meets Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the Board room of FMPA’s Orlando office. A dial-in option for the meeting is also available. The committee will consider three action items: 1) fiscal 2018 Agency budget recommendation to the Executive Committee, 2) fiscal 2018 Agency Allocation recommendation to the Board of Directors, and 3) fiscal 2018/2019 St. Lucie Project budget recommendation to the Board of Directors. Contact: Mark Larson
ARP Solar Business Model Workshop
FMPA’s Executive Committee meets for an ARP Solar Business Model Workshop on Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the Board room of FMPA’s Orlando office. The purpose of the workshop is to discuss options for the All-Requirements Project’s business model that would enable voluntary participation in a solar PV project. Lunch will be served at noon. Contact: Jacob Williams
Audit and Risk Oversight Committee
The Audit and Risk Oversight Committee meets Thursday at 8:30 a.m. in the Board room of FMPA’s Orlando office. The committee will consider four action items: 1) revisions to the power supply and resource planning risk management policy, 2) revisions to the origination risk management policy, 3) revisions to the contract risk management policy, and 4) exercising an option to retain the current exteal auditors for fiscal 2017. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Rich Popp
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors meets Thursday in the Board room of FMPA’s Orlando office at 9:30 a.m., or immediately following the Audit and Risk Oversight Committee meeting. The Board will hear four information items: 1) an update on the joint action solar PV project, 2) an update on the annual service confirmation for the FMPA-ECG lineworker safety training program, 3) an overview of the new Member Services Business Development Director/Manager position, and 4) a legislative update on public notices of pollution. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee meets Thursday in the Board room at FMPA’s Orlando office at 10 a.m., or immediately following the Board of Directors meeting. The committee will consider four action items: 1) a revised proposal for an ARP load attraction incentive rate rider to rate schedule B-1, 2) revisions to the power supply and resource planning risk management policy, 3) approval of a resolution for series 2017A bonds, 4) and approval of a resolution for series 2017B bonds. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
Energy Auditors Roundtable
FMPA’s semi-annual Energy Auditors Roundtable is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. at Kissimmee Utility Authority. The roundtable provides a forum to discuss work procedures and policies, industry changes, equipment and other topics of interest. Lunch will be provided to those registered. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Member Services Satisfaction Survey
Members are encouraged to complete the biennial Member Services Satisfaction Survey by Friday. A link to the online survey was provided in an email May 1 from Sharon Smeenk. There is no limit to the number of people at each utility who can take the survey, so the link can be shared with any utility staff member who has input. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.
All-Requirements Project Weekly Load Statistics
The weekly update of the All-Requirements Project historical load graph will be posted later this week to the Portal. The graph will be updated through May 14. Contact: Jim Arntz
Special Dates
Congratulations to Konrad Lisiewicz, who celebrates 11 years with FMPA on Monday, May 15.
Congratulations to Isaac Barbosa, who celebrates two years with FMPA on Thursday, May 18.
__________________________________________________________
COMING UP
Hurricane and Emergency Preparedness Roundtable
The Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) and FMPA will hold a Hurricane and Emergency Preparedness Roundtable on May 23 at 9:30 a.m. at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center in Orlando. This forum will provide informational updates from the state, lessons leaed from the 2016 hurricane season, a review of operating procedures and the opportunity to network with utility peers. New this year is an afteoon breakout session focused on customer service, communications and community outreach. The focus will be on lessons leaed from Hurricane Matthew and Hermine. Registration is $50 per person, available through FMEA’s website. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
APPA National Conference
Friday is the last day to receive early bird pricing for the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) National Conference and Public Power Expo scheduled for June 16-21 at the Orlando World Center Marriott. Save money by registering this week to attend this educational conference in Florida. Registration and other conference details are available on APPA’s website.
Spill Prevention Plans and Spill Response for Electric Utilities Workshop
Registration is now open for FMPA’s Spill Prevention, Control & Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans and Spill Response for Electric Utilities Workshop. It will be held Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. at FMPA’s Orlando office. This workshop will assist member utilities with developing and implementing an effective SPCC plan. The course will present information on best practices for minimizing risks associated with spills and how to effectively respond if a spill occurs. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
__________________________________________________________
INDUSTRY NEWS
Natural Gas Bills Fail in Florida Legislative Session
A bill that would have allowed Florida’s investor-owned electric utilities to invest in natural gas drilling projects and recoup the money from customers did not pass during the Florida legislative session that ended last week. The bill was filed in response to the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling last year that the Public Service Commission exceeded its authority when it approved Florida Power & Light’s investment in a natural gas project in Oklahoma. Another bill that would have banned hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas in Florida also failed without reaching the floor of either legislative chamber.
Trump Issues Executive Order on Cybersecurity
President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order last Thursday to strengthen the cybersecurity of federal networks and critical infrastructure. Part of the order directs the secretaries of Energy and Homeland Security to perform within 90 days an assessment of electricity disruption incident response capabilities. The report due by Aug. 9 will look at: 1) a “potential scope and duration of a prolonged power outage associated with a significant cyber incident, 2) American readiness to respond to such an outage, and 3) “any gaps or shortcomings in assets or capabilities required to mitigate the consequences of such an incident.
Florida Municipal Utilities Receive APPA’s Prestigious Reliability Award
Nine public power utilities from Florida have eaed APPA’s Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) designation for providing customers with the highest degree of reliable and safe electric service. The highest RP3 designation, known as the Diamond level, representing 98% of the possible points, went to Beaches Energy Services (2017), Fort Pierce Utility Authority (2015), Homestead Energy Services (2017), Keys Energy Services (2017), Lakeland Electric (2015) and Ocala Electric Utility (2017). The second-highest designation, known as the Platinum level, representing 90% to less than 98% of possible points, went to Leesburg (2017), Tallahassee (2015) and Kissimmee Utility Authority (2015). The RP3 award requires demonstrated proficiency in four key disciplines: reliability, safety, work force development and system improvement. Criteria within each discipline are based on sound business practices and recognized industry leading practices. The designation lasts for three years. A list of winners is posted on APPA’s website.
__________________________________________________________
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 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