FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Nov. 20, 2017
LAST WEEK
Credit Rating Confirmation
Fitch Ratings issued a letter last Friday confirming the credit ratings of four FMPA projects involved in the proposed sale of Vero Beach’s electric utility due to the city’s request to terminate its participation in FMPA’s Stanton, Stanton II and St. Lucie projects. The letter also affirms the All-Requirements Project’s credit rating after assumption of Vero Beach’s entitlements in those three projects. The letter confirmed that the proposed transactions will not result in a withdrawal or downgrade on any of the four project ratings assigned by Fitch. Contact: Mark Larson
St. Lucie Reliability Exchange Agreement
An extension of FMPA’s St. Lucie nuclear reliability exchange agreement with Florida Power & Light (FPL) was approved Nov. 7 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. From the inception of FMPA’s St. Lucie Project, it has exchanged half of its capacity and energy entitlements from St. Lucie Unit 2 for a like amount from FPL’s ownership of Unit 1. This reduces the risk of losing all the capacity and energy when Unit 2 is off-line. The original agreement was to expire Oct. 1, 2017. The approval officially extends the reliability exchange for another five years until Oct. 1, 2022. Contact: Rich Popp
Lake Worth Board Representative
The Lake Worth City Commission appointed Electric Utility Director Ed Liberty as the city’s representative to FMPA’s Board of Directors and the ARP Executive Committee. Walt Gill serves as the city’s alteate representative. Contact: Jacob Williams
FEMA Procurement Review
Sharon Smeenk, Dan O’Hagan and Sharon Samuels participated in a conference call last Monday with representatives from the law firm of Baker Donelson to review procurement practices relative to requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Representatives from the firm were pleased with the procurement platform that FMPA and many municipals use called Advanced Utility Resources and Supply, Inc. (AURSI). Baker Donelson will examine AURSI in depth and recommend any adjustments to ensure compliance with FEMA guidelines for FMPA members who use the contracts. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors met last Thursday and approved: 1) FMPA’s new logo effective with the Agency’s 40th anniversary on Feb. 24, 2018, 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 met last Thursday and approved the General Electric combined contractual services agreement. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
Member Services Satisfaction Survey
Results from FMPA’s biennial Member Services Satisfaction Survey were email last Friday to members by Sharon Smeenk. The goal of the survey was to solicit member feedback on all of the services provided by FMPA. Respondents rated their overall satisfaction with services as 4.76 on a five-point scale with five being the best. The three services with the highest scores in both satisfaction and perceived value were: 1) legal assistance, 2) cyber security, and 3) NERC compliance. The survey results have been presented to the Member Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) and will be presented to the Board of Directors in December. While all services received satisfactory or excellent scores for satisfaction and value, FMPA staff is working with MSAC and other stakeholder groups to evaluate and possibly enhance services that received lower scores. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Cane Island Unit 1
Cane Island Unit 1 retued to service Friday after a planned maintenance outage. Contact: David Schumann
Regional Meetings
Mike McCleary is establishing regional forums for line crew leaders and foremen to foster relationships among peers in a region. The first meetings will be held this January in Chattahoochee and Homestead. More meetings will follow in other regions. Invitations are expected to be distributed by the end of the month.
Emergency Response Plan
Mike McCleary is encouraging utilities to establish an emergency response plan based on the National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS is a comprehensive, nationwide-standard approach to incident management. It provides a consistent framework enabling govements, the private sector and nongovemental organizations to work together more effectively in emergencies. The NIMS program can fit any size event, and its Incident Command System (ICS) helps coordination with outside organizations. For help developing an emergency response plan, contact Mike McCleary.
3 Phase Times
FMPA’s Power Resources Division published the October 2017 edition of 3 Phase Times last week. 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 83% of ARP’s total energy sources in October. ARP sold 17% of its generation to the Florida Municipal Power Pool (FMPP). Pool sales helped offset ARP costs by $1.31 per MWh. The FMPP Average Monthly Gas Dispatch Price in October was $2.90 per MMBtu, which was 36 cents below the budget. The equivalent availability factor of FMPA’s base-load units in October was 93%, which is higher than the annual projection. Cane Island Unit 4 was on a planned outage in October. For more information, download 3 Phase Times from the Portal. Contact: Frank Gaffney
THIS WEEK
Vero Beach Member City Vote
Jacob Williams travels to Ocala on Tuesday for a scheduled vote on the proposed sale of Vero Beach’s electric utility.
Thanksgiving Holiday
FMPA’s offices will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Have a safe and happy holiday.
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. 19. Contact: Jim Atz
COMING UP
Energy Auditors Roundtable
FMPA’s Energy Auditors Roundtable will be held Nov. 30 at Beaches Energy Services in Jacksonville Beach. The roundtable provides a forum for participants to discuss work policies, procedures, practices, equipment and other topics of interest. Lunch will be provided. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
AURSI Webinar
FMPA will host a webinar to provide members with an overview of Advanced Utility Resources and Supply, Inc. (AURSI), a web-based materials manual and procurement platform. The webinar on Dec. 5 at 10 a.m. is open to any utility or city staff member who has an interest in the procurement process. The webinar will explain how AURSI can improve material standards and accelerate the bidding process. Many FMPA members already use AURSI, so this is an opportunity for those who don’t to lea about the process. Registration is free and available on FMPA’s https://fmpa.com/event/webinar-overview-of-aursi-web-based-procurement-platform/>
ARP Telephonic Rate Workshop
The ARP Executive Committee will meet Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. via conference call for the monthly All-Requirements Project Rate Workshop. Contact: Jason Wolfe
INDUSTRY NEWS
The U.S. House passed a tax reform bill last Thursday. The bill maintains the current tax exemption for municipal bonds but would eliminate advance refunding bonds, private activity bonds, tax credit bonds and tax-exempt municipal bonds for professional sports stadiums. It also rescinds the deduction for state and local income taxes (SALT), and in its place, leaves a deduction for property taxes with a $10,000 limit per year. The Senate has released a similar version of the House bill that would rescind the SALT deduction completely. The ban is projected to raise $17 billion in federal revenues. The Senate will consider the bill in December.
The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) staff issued its first data request last Thursday to all electric utilities seeking information on hurricane preparedness and restoration actions related to Hurricanes Irma, Hermine and Matthew, as well as planning related to Maria and Nate. The request asks for data on: 1) staging for utility personnel and mutual aid, 2) damage assessment process, 3) restoration workload, 4) staffing considerations, 5) customer communication, 6) material considerations, 7) restoration process, 8) outages, 9) hardened and non-hardened structures, 10) critical infrastructure restoration, and 11) underground facilities. Electronic responses are required from all electric utilities no later than Dec. 15. The PSC staff requests that responses be submitted via the PSC’s https://secure.floridapsc.com/ClerkOffice/EfilingPublic>
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
Florida Municipal Power Agency
8553 Commodity Circle
Orlando, FL 32819-9002
Tel 407 355-7767
Fax 407 355-5794
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