FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Jan. 16, 2018
LAST WEEK
Hurricane Preparedness
FMPA staff met last Monday to continue discussions about hurricane preparedness. Cairo Vanegas will lead a staff effort to enhance FMPA’s preparations and expand storm services that staff can offer for members.
Vero Beach Member City Vote
The St. Cloud City Council last Thursday approved resolutions that will enable the City of Vero Beach to sell its electric utility. Twelve out of 19 member cities have now approved the necessary consents and waivers. Contact: Jacob Williams
Utility Rate Services RFP
Seven proposals were received last Wednesday in response to FMPA’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for Utility Rate Services. The proposals will be reviewed by FMPA staff, and an award is expected to be announced by Jan. 31. Once awarded, members will have access to these competitively bid rate review services. The https://fmpa.com/request-for-proposals-utility-rate-services/>
THIS WEEK
AURSI Webinar
Part two of FMPA’s Advanced Utility Resources and Supply, Inc. (AURSI) webinar will be held Monday at 10 a.m. The free webinar will focus on how AURSI can accelerate members’ quoting and bidding 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
Vero Beach Member City Votes
Lake Worth is scheduled to discuss a resolution on Tuesday that would enable the City of Vero Beach to sell its electric utility. Contact: Jacob Williams
Salary Survey
Members are encouraged to respond to FMPA’s inaugural utility salary survey that will be issued this week. The survey was developed in response to an FMPA roundtable about challenges members face with distribution services and lineworker retention. The participants identified the need for Florida-specific salary and benefit information to help analyze retention issues. The survey was developed by a group of Human Resources professionals from member utilities. The survey will be sent this week in an email from Sharon Smeenk. When the results are available, they will be summarized with anonymity and posted to the Portal for reference throughout the year. The survey is expected to be an annual process. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Cyber Security Regional Meeting
FMPA hosts a Cyber Mutual Aid (CMA) regional meeting on Wednesday in the Board room of the Orlando office. The meeting is open to Florida utilities with a participation agreement in place. The meeting will cover: 1) an overview of CMA and how it can be used in an organization, 2) ways a regional CMA can benefit outside the national/inteational version, 3) engaging outside parties, 4) local CMA drills, and 5) the CMA playbook. Contact: Carter Manucy
Policy Makers Liaisons Committee
FMPA’s Policy Makers Liaisons Committee meets at FMPA’s Orlando office. Lunch will be served at noon, and the business meeting will begin at 1 p.m. The committee will hear a report from FMPA’s General Manager and three information items: 1) update on Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission, 2) quantifying the value of the municipal electric utility for members, and 3) FMPA joint-action solar project update. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Mark McCain
Audit and Risk Oversight Committee
The Audit and Risk Oversight Committee (AROC) meets Thursday at 8:30 a.m. in the Board room of FMPA’s Orlando office. The committee will consider two action items: 1) review and recommendation of Annual Audited Financial Report for fiscal year 2017, and 2) the Risk Inventory Update. 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 at 9 a.m., or immediately following the AROC meeting. The Board will consider one action item, the Annual Audited Financial Report for fiscal 2017, and hear six information items: 1) a joint-action solar project update, 2) Vero Beach sale of electric utility and transfer, and assignment for February approval, 3) quantifying the value of the municipal electric utility for members, 4) electric vehicle projection and impact on electric demand in Florida through 2027, 5) an update on Request for Qualifications for Financial Advisor, and 6) procurement policy compliance review. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee meets Thursday in the Board room at 10 a.m., or immediately following the Board of Directors meeting. The Committee will consider three action items: 1) the Annual Audited Financial Report for fiscal 2017, 2) Lake Worth billing agreement, and 3) extension of Bank of America, N.A. letter of credit. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
Regional Crew Leader Roundtable
The next regional crew leader roundtable will be held Tuesday in Leesburg at 10 a.m. The roundtables are designed to provide an opportunity for foremen or crew leaders to meet with their counterparts from other member utilities within a region. The next roundtable is scheduled for Jan. 30 in Homestead, and https://fmpa.com/event/fmpa-regional-crew-leader-roundtable-hosted-by-homestead-energy-services-january-31-2018/>
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 Jan. 15. Contact: Jim Atz
Special Dates
Congratulations to Sharon Smeenk, who celebrates 13 years with FMPA on Thursday, Jan. 18.
Congratulations to Carl Tuer, who celebrates four years with FMPA on Saturday Jan. 20.
Congratulations to Hector Mesa, who celebrates 10 years with FMPA on Sunday, Jan. 21.
COMING UP
Substation Training Series
There are still spots available for session three of FMPA’s Substation Training series, which will be held Feb. 20-21 at Orlando Utilities Commission’s Engineering Building. The topics for this session are: 1) power transformer and regulator testing, maintenance and troubleshooting, 2) LTC controls and settings, and 3) PTs and CTs. 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-maintenance-training-february-20-21-2018/>
Winter Compliance Workshop
The Compliance Department hosts a two-day Compliance Workshop on Feb. 12-13 at FMPA’s Orlando office. Participants are encouraged to provide topics of interest when they register. https://fmpa.com/event/fmpa-2018-winter-compliance-workshop-day-1-february-12-2018/>
GIS Roundtable
https://fmpa.com/event/fmpa-gis-roundtable-march-22-2018/>
INDUSTRY NEWS
Florida Public Counsel J.R. Kelly, a consumer representative in utility matters, filed a petition last Tuesday with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) proposing an investigation and rate adjustments for investor-owned utilities as a result of the recently passed federal tax overhaul. Multiple electric utilities around the country have announced plans to lower rates for customers. Investor-owned utilities in Florida have not made similar announcements, though Florida Power and Light has asked to delay its request to recover hurricane-related costs while it examines the new tax law.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that it will host three more public listening sessions on the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan, a plan to cut carbon emissions from existing fossil-fuel power plants. Previously, one listening session was held in November 2017, but environmental groups pushed for more. The new hearings will occur in February and March. In addition, the public comment period is extended to April 26.
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 Mason Troche 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 Mason Troche
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
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