FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Dec. 4, 2017
LAST WEEK
Organizational Changes
Organizational and title changes were announced last Tuesday by General Manager and CEO Jacob Williams to reflect positions with a broader scope of responsibilities. The change includes the addition of director-level positions to FMPA’s organizational structure. Under the new structure, Sharon Adams will serve as Human Resources Director reporting to the CEO, Rich Popp will serve as Audit and Risk Director and David Schumann will serve as Power Generation Fleet Director. All of these changes were supported by FMPA’s recent compensation study. Contact: Jacob Williams
Member City Votes
The Town of Havana and City of Homestead voted last Tuesday to approve the Vero Beach transaction. Three out of 19 member cities have now approved the necessary consents and waivers. Contact: Jacob Williams
THIS WEEK
Vero Beach Member City Votes
FMPA staff will travel to member cities this week for scheduled votes related to the proposed sale of Vero Beach’s electric utility. On Monday, Jacob Williams and Jody Finklea travel to Bushnell. On Tuesday, Jody travels to Starke, Jacob travels to Green Cove Springs and Vero Beach and Mark McCain travels to Moore Haven. On Wednesday, Jacob travels to Kissimmee. The Key West Utility Board will also hold a vote on Wednesday.
Grant Opportunities
Sharon Smeenk emailed a list of potential grant opportunities on Monday to interested FMPA members. The Member Services Department has a subscription to Grantfinder.com to assist members in identifying potential funding sources. The service was purchased after several members requested assistance with grants and the service options were discussed with the Member Services Advisory Committee. Member Services sends out periodic emails with grant opportunities. If you would like to receive the emails, contact Sharon Smeenk.
AURSI Webinar
FMPA’s Advanced Utility Resources and Supply, Inc. (AURSI) webinar will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. The webinar will explain how AURSI can improve material standards and accelerate the purchasing process. Many FMPA members already use AURSI, so this is an opportunity for those who don’t to lea about the benefits. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
ARP Telephonic Rate Workshop
The ARP Executive Committee meets Thursday at 2 p.m. via conference call for the monthly All-Requirements Project Rate Workshop. The agenda includes: 1) natural gas markets update, 2) overview of November loads, 3) resource update for November, and 4) review of November ARP rate calculation. Contact: Jason Wolfe
Purchasing Roundtable
FMPA’s Purchasing Roundtable will be held Thursday at 10 a.m. in FMPA’s Orlando office. The roundtable is open to any utility staff member who has an interest in procurement topics, including procedures, policies, practices, industry changes and more. Lunch will be provided. Contact: Sharon Samuels
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 Dec. 3. Contact: Jim Atz
Special Dates
Congratulations to Joe McKinney, who celebrates 17 years with FMPA on Monday, Dec. 4.
COMING UP
Goveing Board Meetings
FMPA’s goveing boards will meet Dec. 14 in FMPA’s Orlando office. The Audit and Risk Oversight Committee (AROC) meets at 8:30 a.m. The Board of Directors meets at 9:30 a.m., or immediately following the AROC meeting. The Executive Committee meets at 10 a.m., or immediately following the Board of Directors meeting. Contact: Jacob Williams
Substation Training Series
Session two of FMPA’s Substation Training series will be held Jan. 23-24 at Orlando Utilities Commission’s Engineering Building. The topic for this session is substation print reading and troubleshooting. This hands-on course is designed to provide participants with in-depth instruction on substation-related topics and is tailored to the specific equipment of the attendee’s utilities. The cost to register is $900 per person for the two-day session. Lunch will be provided. https://fmpa.com/event/substation-print-reading-troubleshooting-january-23-24-2018/>
INDUSTRY NEWS
The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane season ended last Thursday, and for the first time in 12 years, two major hurricanes hit the continental U.S. This year’s season produced 17 named storms, 10 of which became hurricanes and six of which were classified as major storms. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2017 was the most active season since 2005. Florida was directly impacted by Hurricane Irma in September. Irma caused widespread damage that inspired the largest pre-planned storm-recovery effort in the nation’s history.
The Florida House Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss possible recommendations for responding to Hurricane Irma and preparation plans for future storms. Senate committees have also considered hurricane-related issues, but there is no special committee dedicated to the topic. Recommendations made by the House committee are expected to be considered during the 2018 legislative session, which starts in January.
Senate Approves Tax Reform Bill with Repeal of Advance Refunding Bonds
The U.S. Senate approved its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) last Saturday by a vote of 51 to 49. The Senate bill includes a prohibition on the issuance of tax-exempt advance refunding bonds after Dec. 31, 2017. This makes the bill identical in this respect to the House-passed version of the bill. The House has scheduled a vote on Monday evening to proceed to conference with the Senate to resolve differences between the two bills. President Trump and congressional republican leaders have said they want a final agreement reached, passed by Congress and signed into law by the President before Christmas. It is possible that the advance refunding bond issue could be revisited at some point, according to the American Public Power Association, but altering the proposed repeal at this time will be very difficult.
A U.S. district judge denied Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) motion to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that FPL violated the Clear Water Act with contaminated water at its Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station near Homestead. The ruling was released Nov. 21. As a result, FPL is set to go to trial against the Southe Alliance for Clean Energy, Friends of the Everglades and Tropical Audubon Society beginning May 29. This decision comes three weeks before the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) is scheduled, on Dec. 12, to determine if FPL can charge customers $200 million to clean up groundwater pollution at the site. The cleanup, which began in 2016, is expected to take a decade to complete.
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
http://www.fmpa.com>www.fmpa.com
Community Power. Statewide Strength. ®