FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Nov. 13, 2017
LAST WEEK
Vero Beach Legal Review Session
The second review session for legal documents related to the proposed withdrawal of Vero Beach from FMPA power supply projects was held last Thursday via conference call. The two-hour session covered the consents and waivers proposed for each goveing body of FMPA members participating in the All-Requirements, St. Lucie, Stanton or Stanton II projects. City attoeys who could not attend either session are encouraged to contact Jody Finklea for an individual session.
Communications Award
FMPA received an Excellence in Public Power Communications Award last Wednesday from the American Public Power Association. Winners were announced at the association’s annual Customer Connections Conference in Sacramento, Calif. FMPA received an award in the web/social media category for the https://vimeo.com/226774984>
Public Power Colleague and Former FMPA Employee, Lloyd Shank, Passes
Lloyd D. Shank, Jr.—a public power colleague to many in Florida and North Carolina—died Oct. 31 after a long battle with cancer. Lloyd was the utility director in Leesburg for five years and the city’s representative to FMPA’s Board. He then joined FMPA’s staff as project development manager, a position he held for 2 1/2 years. He started his career as an electrical engineer with Duke Power in Charlotte before transitioning to a 30-year career in public power in North Carolina and Florida. He was active with the Florida Municipal Electric Association, leading the Fellowship Breakfast at the annual conference for several years. Lloyd ended his career in private consulting as senior project manager for the Florida operations of Power Services, Inc. He is survived by his wife, Leslie, of Maitland, Fla., as well as his son, daughter and four grandchildren. A memorial service was held Nov. 4. In lieu of flowers, the Shank family requests donations in the name of Lloyd D. Shank, Jr. be directed to the https://www.ece.ncsu.edu/about/contact>
THIS WEEK
Operations Fleet
Tim Jackson travels to Stock Island Generating Facility in Key West this week to work with the plant staff until a vacant position is filled. This is the latest example of operating personnel at FMPA’s generating units working together as one generation fleet to share resources and save money. Employees from Cane Island Power Park in Kissimmee provided support to Stock Island after Hurricane Irma. Last week, three mechanics and welders from Cane Island traveled to Treasure Coast Energy Center (TCEC) in Fort Pierce to assist with an outage. After the outage is complete, power plant operators from Cane Island will be at TCEC to help with crew coverage until open positions are filled. Contact: David Schumann
FEMA Project
Sharon Smeenk, Dan O’Hagan and Sharon Samuels will participate in a conference call Monday with representatives from the law firm of Baker Donelson to review procurement practices relative to requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Baker Donelson will provide three services for FMPA members: 1) review FMPA’s procurement process to ensure compliance with FEMA guidelines for members who use the contracts, 2) development of a tool kit for FMPA’s member cities for the purchasing process, and 3) a training class on the tool kit. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Cane Island Unit 1
Cane Island Unit 1 will be taken offline Monday for a planned maintenance outage. The outage is scheduled for five days. Contact: David Schumann
Stock Island Computers
Carter Manucy and Konrad Lisiewicz travel to Stock Island Generating Facility in Key West this week to work with a contractor replacing computers that run Units 1, 2 and 3 to ensure cyber security standards.
Member City Visits
Jacob Williams and Frank Gaffney travel to Lake Worth on Tuesday for a member city visit. Jacob and Frank will then travel to Homestead on Tuesday and Key West on Wednesday to give presentations on the proposed sale of Vero Beach’s electric utility.
System Review
Mike McCleary will assist with a system review on Tuesday to address conces with a power line at one of FMPA’s member cities. Mike will help inspect a transmission line to resolve a reoccurring issue.
Introductory Visits
Mike McCleary travels to Fort Meade on Wednesday to continue his introductory meetings with FMPA member cities. Members who have not scheduled meetings with Mike are encouraged to do so by sending him an email.
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors meets Thursday at 9 a.m. in the Board room of FMPA’s Orlando office. The Board will consider four action items: 1) FMPA’s 40th anniversary and logo, 2) resolution 2017-B7 – Stanton Project budget amendment and resolution 2017-B8 – Tri-City Project budget amendment, 3) 2018 management goals, and 4) modification of Board resolutions numbering. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee meets Thursday in the Board room of FMPA’s Orlando office at 9:30 a.m., or immediately following the Board of Directors meeting. The committee will consider one action item, the General Electric combined contractual services agreement, and three information items: 1) status of Renewal and Replacement Account, 2) update on pilot expansion of Florida Municipal Power Pool, and 3) overview of solar business structure, agreements and terms. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
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 Nov. 12. Contact: Jim Atz
Special Dates
Congratulations to Ryan Dumas, who celebrates seven years with FMPA on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
COMING UP
Purchasing Roundtable
The deadline to https://fmpa.com/event/fmpa-purchasing-roundtable/>
Meter Tech Roundtable
FMPA will hold a Meter Tech Roundtable on Nov. 29 in Jacksonville. The roundtable is a forum to discuss topics such as policies, procedures, equipment, technology, safety, training, apprentice programs and more. The roundtable will be hosted by JEA and includes a tour of JEA’s metering facilities. The event is free and open to anyone who has an interest in metering or meter-related topics. Lunch will be provided. https://fmpa.com/event/meter-tech-roundtable/>
INDUSTRY NEWS
Florida Power & Light (FPL) filed documents with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) seeking approval to purchase the City of Vero Beach’s electric utility for $185 million. Under the proposed deal, FPL would acquire the right to provide electricity to approximately 34,000 customers currently served by Vero Beach, as well as acquire 550 miles of transmission and distribution lines and 10 substations owned by Vero Beach. The PSC is being asked to approve: 1) the termination of a territorial agreement that previously divided the county, 2) FPL’s right to charge its rates to the city of Vero Beach customers, and 3) certain accounting issues. In the Nov. 3 filing, FPL states it will not increase base rates to complete the deal and that Vero Beach customers will see monthly bills drop once they merge into FPL.
The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a settlement agreement last Monday that will freeze base rates for customers of Tampa Electric Company (TECO) through 2021, but the company will be allowed to recoup additional costs for 600 MW of proposed solar energy projects. As the solar projects are completed, they will cost a residential customer who uses 1,000 kWh per month about 1% more a year, or about $1, on the average monthly residential bill. The first phase of the solar expansion is expected to begin producing electricity in September 2018, with additional phases in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Tampa Electric Company (TECO) President and CEO Gordon Gillette announced last Monday his plan to retire Nov. 30 after 36 years with the company. Nancy Tower, the chief development officer with the utility’s parent company, Emera Inc., will replace him. Emera is a Canadian firm that acquired TECO last year.
Art Graham was elected last Tuesday to serve as chairman of the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) starting Jan. 2, 2018. Graham, who was recently reappointed to another four-year term on the panel, will succeed Julie Brown in the leadership position. He first joined the PSC in 2010, and before that, he was a Jacksonville City Council member. He also acted as chairman between October 2010 to January 2012 and January 2014 to January 2016. The term for the chairman is two years.
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 Holly Cammisa 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 Holly Cammisa
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