FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
June 11, 2018
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LAST WEEK
St. Cloud Board Representative
St. Cloud City Council appointed City Manager Bill Sturgeon as the city’s representative to FMPA’s Board of Directors. Donna Cooley and Donald Shroyer will continue to serve as alternate representatives. Contact: Jacob Williams
Joint Purchasing Process
FMPA is in the process of updating storm-related request for proposals for commodities used by members. In response to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirements, FMPA’s joint purchasing process has been modified to include a participation agreement. If a member is interested in participating in any of FMPA’s storm-related purchases, they need to complete the participation agreement and retu it to Sharon Samuels. FMPA has worked with the law firm of Baker Donelson to create a federal procurement toolkit that is available to members. The toolkit includes a sample procurement policy, flow chart and checklists that can help ensure storm-related procurements meet FEMA requirements for reimbursement.
FAASSTeR Meeting
Susan Schumann attended a meeting last Wednesday in Orlando for the Florida Alliance for Accelerating Solar and Storage Technology (FAASSTeR). Several FMPA members attended, including Gainesville, Leesburg, Ocala, Orlando and Wauchula. The FAASSTeR project is studying and developing ways to expand grid-integrated solar, energy storage and distribution of other energy resources to maximize value and reduce risk. The meeting allowed project participants to share results, gather input, have team discussions and plan future activities.
All-Requirements Project May Load Statistics
The All-Requirements Project’s non-Contract Rate of Delivery peak for May was 1055 MW, which occurred May 11 between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. The project’s load factor for May was 64%. Load factor is a ratio of actual energy (MWh) used during the period versus what would have been consumed if demand was at peak for the entire period. A higher load factor indicates more effective system utilization and results in lower average costs. The monthly peak was 98% of the budgeted peak, and energy was 101% of the budget. A graph showing the All-Requirements Project hourly load for May is available on the Portal. Contact: Jim Arntz
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THIS WEEK
Stock Island Hurricane Drill
David Schumann travels to Key West on Monday to conduct a hurricane drill at the Stock Island Generating Facility. Tim Jackson and Trent Lewis will simulate a hurricane from the Orlando office. The drill will cover operational procedures during a hurricane.
Distribution Reliability Roundtable
FMPA will host a Distribution Reliability Roundtable on Tuesday at 10 a.m. in the Orlando office. The roundtable is an opportunity to discuss details of FMPA’s Distribution Reliability Measurement Program as well as reporting procedures and best practices among participating utilities. This year’s roundtable will include an analysis of historical reliability data and presentations on best practices from member utilities that excel in reliability indices. A webcast will be available for those not able to attend in person. Contact: Sharon Samuels
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors meets Thursday in the Board room at 9 a.m. The Board will consider: 1) FMPA-ECG alliance lineworker training annual service confirmation, and 2) Stanton, Stanton II, Tri-City and St. Lucie projects’ budgets for fiscal 2019 and Agency allocations. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
Executive Committee
The ARP Executive Committee meets Thursday in the Board room at 9:30 a.m., or immediately following the Board of Directors. The committee will consider: 1) Agency general and All-Requirements project budgets for fiscal 2019, 2) ARP 2018A Refunding Bond Transaction, and 3) proposed ARP cost-spread reduction program. 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 June 10. Contact: Jim Arntz
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COMING UP
Utility Communicators Roundtable
FMPA and the Florida Municipal Electric Association will host a roundtable for utility and city communicators June 27 at 10 a.m. at FMPA’s Orlando office. The purpose of the roundtable is to discuss hurricane communications and other topics of interest to communication and marketing departments at public power utilities. A conference call-in number and webcast will be available for those not able to attend in person. Registration is free and lunch will be provided. Participants are asked to register online and suggest discussion topics. Contact: Mark McCain
System Control Roundtable
FMPA will hold a System Control Roundtable on July 11 at 10 a.m. in Lakeland. The roundtable will be an opportunity for operators of power generating units to discuss common issues, share best practices and network with fellow member utilities. The program is targeted to system control personnel who are involved with daily system switching, trouble call dispatch and facilitate crew locations and field activities. There is no cost to attend, and lunch will be provided. Registration is available on FMPA.com. Contact: Mike McCleary
FMEA Annual Conference
Friday is the deadline to receive discounted registration for the Florida Municipal Electric Association’s (FMEA) Annual Conference scheduled for July 17-19 at The Breakers in Palm Beach. A special mid-conference seminar called “Responding to Crisis Situations: Tactics for the Public Power Executive has been added to the agenda. The conference includes the annual FMPA Board of Directors luncheon and FMPA’s governing board meetings.
INDUSTRY NEWS
PSC Approves FPL’s Purchase of Vero Beach Utility
Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) proposed acquisition of the city of Vero Beach’s electric utility passed another milestone last Tuesday when the Florida Public Service Commission overrode two staff recommendations and approved by 3-2 votes its statutory authority related to the deal. Regarding FPL’s purchase costs for the Vero Beach utility, the PSC staff had recommended a significantly lower amount that FPL should be allowed to recover from customer rates. The staff proposal could have required a multi-year surcharge on Vero Beach’s electric customers, which might have jeopardized the deal. Also, an expert on behalf of the Office of Public Council, which represents consumers, testified there were flaws in FPL’s projection that its customers would save money from the acquisition. But Commissioner Gary Clark, who moved approvals related to FPL’s requests, said the long-awaited deal had been approved by many cities involved and “will have no adverse impact to existing FPL customers. After the commission vote, a representative for the Public Council said its office would not file an objection to the decision.
FPL Hurricane Recovery Cost Plan Approved by PSC
Florida Power & Light (FPL) customers will see a reduction in bills after the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) approved FPL’s plan last Tuesday to use tax savings to offset hurricane costs. Residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month will see a 59-cent reduction in monthly bills effective in July. FPL proposed using the savings from the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to offset hurricane recovery costs. The act lowered the federal income tax rate for corporations to 21%. The PSC put off a decision about a one-time refund that customers would receive because of an “over-recovery of storm restoration costs after Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
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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 Lisa Rienhardt 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.
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