FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Feb. 19, 2018
LAST WEEK
Vero Beach Member City Vote
The Alachua City Commission approved resolutions last Monday that will enable Vero Beach to sell its electric utility. The vote in Fort Meade, scheduled for last Tuesday, was postponed to Feb. 26 due to a lack of quorum. Now, 16 out of 19 member cities have approved the necessary consents and waivers. Contact: Jacob Williams
FEMA Procurement Workshop
FMPA hosted a workshop last Wednesday to discuss compliance with procurement standards of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). More than 55 people attended, including FMPA staff, and several members were very complimentary of the workshop and the Procurement Toolkit that was distributed. For FMPA members unable to attend, a https://vimeo.com/256091615>
Bushnell Board Representative
The Bushnell City Council last week appointed Utility Director David Mulholland to serve as the city’s representative to FMPA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Finance Director Jody Young was named interim city manager following the death of Bruce Hickle, and she will serve as Bushnell’s alteate to FMPA’s goveing boards. Contact: Jacob Williams
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors met last Thursday and heard several information items, including: 1) solar project update, 2) Vero Beach status update, 3) human resources policy, and 4) annual debt report. After the meeting, a ceremony was held to recognize the 4oth anniversary of FMPA’s first meeting on Feb. 24, 1978. The agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee met last Thursday and heard several information items, including: 1) solar project update, 2) Vero Beach status update, and 3) Fort Meade CROD adjustment/supplemental power and ancillary services agreement. The agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
New FMPA Logo
A new FMPA logo was launched last Thursday in connection with the Agency 40th anniversary celebration. The new logo has been implemented in many areas, such as agenda packages, stationery, PowerPoint, signage, websites and more. Contact: Mark McCain
Stanton Unit 1
Stanton Unit 1 is offline for a planned outage. It’s scheduled to come back online March 4. Contact: David Schumann
3 Phase Times
FMPA’s Power Resources Division published the January 2018 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 cold weather drove peak demand 11% higher than budget, and sales were 9% above forecast. Natural gas represented 69% of ARP’s total energy sources in January. Higher natural gas prices and lower coal prices resulted in higher than expected coal-fired power output. ARP sold 3% of its generation to the Florida Municipal Power Pool. Pool sales helped offset ARP costs by 28 cents per MWh. The FMPP Average Monthly Gas Dispatch Price in January was $3.58 per MMBtu, which was 10 cents above budget. The equivalent availability factor of FMPA’s base-load units in January was 100%, which is higher than the monthly projection. For more information, download 3 Phase Times from the Portal. Contact: Frank Gaffney
THIS WEEK
Vero Beach Member City Votes
Two FMPA member cities are scheduled to vote Monday on a resolution that would enable the city of Vero Beach to sell its electric utility. Jacob Williams will attend the Clewiston City Commission meeting, and Jody Finklea travels to Jacksonville Beach.
Member City Visits
Mike McCleary will visit Gainesville on Tuesday and New Smya Beach on Wednesday for member city visits.
City Commission Visit
Jacob Williams travels to Lake Worth on Tuesday to attend the Lake Worth Commission meeting.
Substation Training Series
Session three of FMPA’s Substation Training series is Tuesday and Wednesday at Orlando Utilities Commission’s Engineering Building. The topics for this session are: 1) power transformer testing, 2) LTC controls and settings, and 3) regulator testing. 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. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Fitch Ratings Review
Jacob Williams, Mark Larson, Linda Howard and other FMPA staff members will participate Wednesday in a call with Fitch Ratings for an annual review of FMPA’s projects.
TCEC Recognition
Jacob Williams and David Schumann visit the Treasure Coast Energy Center (TCEC) on Wednesday to recognize the plant’s excellent availability and reliability for the year. They will give a presentation on TCEC’s performance statistics and its importance for serving the All-Requirements Project’s load.
FRCC Board Meeting
Jacob Williams and Carol Chinn will participate Thursday in the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council’s (FRCC) Board of Directors meeting.
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 Feb. 18. Contact: Jim Atz
COMING UP
Cost Competitiveness Workshop
FMPA’s Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Policy Makers Liaisons Committee members are invited to a workshop on cost competitiveness March 14 at FMPA’s Orlando office. Lunch will be provided at 11:30 a.m., and the workshop will begin at 12:15 p.m. Following the workshop, there will be a tour of Cane Island Power Park where Unit 4 will be disassembled as part of a planned outage. Members are asked to RSVP to Sue Utley for an accurate head count for lunch and the tour. Contact: Jacob Williams
NIMS Training
There are still a few spots remaining for the National Incident Management System (NIMS) training class on March 27-29 at FMPA’s Orlando office. NIMS is a comprehensive, nationwide-standard approach to incident management and provides a framework that helps govements, the private sector and nongovemental organizations to work more effectively in emergency situations. There are several prerequisites that must be completed prior to attending. For information on the prerequisites and registering contact Mike McCleary.
Human Resources Roundtable
FMPA will hold a Human Resources (HR) Roundtable on April 5 at the Orlando office. The deadline to https://fmpa.com/event/human-resources-roundtable-april-5-2018/>
INDUSTRY NEWS
The Florida Senate Communications, Energy and Public Utilities Committee last week backed the confirmation of Andrew Fay, a former deputy to Attoey General Pam Bondi, who was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC). In his testimony before the committee, Fay said he believes that the most significant issue facing the commission is balancing the needs of consumers, utility companies and other interested parties. His appointment must be confirmed by the full Senate.
Gulf Power filed a request last week with the Florida Public Service Commission to pass along approximately $103 million in tax savings to its customers in the form of lower electric rates. If approved, the utility said the average customer could save approximately $14 per month. The savings resulted from federal tax law changes effective in January. Duke Energy Florida, Florida Power & Light and Tampa Electric have seen similar benefits from tax reform, although those utilities decided to use the savings to offset potential rate increases related to Hurricane Irma costs. Gulf Power did not suffer significant damage from Irma. If Gulf’s plan is approved, customers would see savings starting in April.
The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) released a staff recommendation last Friday that recommends approval of a new power plant in Dania Beach. Florida Power & Light (FPL) proposed building a 1,163 MW natural gas-fired unit to replaced older units at the site. The plan is opposed by the Sierra Club and the Office of Public Counsel that say the plant is not needed to meet customer demand until 2022. Under FPL’s plan, the new plant would come online in 2018. The commission is scheduled to decide March 1.
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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