FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Nov. 11, 2019
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LAST WEEK
Member City Visits
Jacob Williams and Ken Rutter traveled to Green Cove Springs and Starke last Tuesday for member city visits.
FMPA Weekly Readership Survey
FMPA’s Public Relations Department emailed a readership survey to members and staff last Wednesday, kicking off a refresh project in anticipation of the newsletter’s 20th anniversary issue in February 2020. The goal of the survey is to assess the newsletter’s performance in meeting the communication objectives of FMPA and to collect feedback for enhancements. Survey responses are requested by Wednesday. Contact: Melisa Inanc
Bond Closing
FMPA closed on Series 2019 A and B refunding revenue bonds last Thursday, resulting in a positive net present value savings of $295,000. The refinancing is a continuation of FMPA’s strategy to enhance its financial position by eliminating interest-rate swaps, increasing its fixed-rate debt and paying-off debt early. Contact: Rich Popp
Clewiston AMI Kickoff
Navid Nowakhtar and Cairo Vanegas met last week with the city of Clewiston and Quanta Technology, the city’s owner’s engineer, to kick off Phase I of the city’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project. The parties had an in-depth discussion on the range of benefits AMI offers and are currently working to refine the cost-benefit analysis for the project.
FMPA Switching Banks
FMPA is in the process of transitioning banks, which will affect processing of members’ monthly electronic payments. The Finance Department communicated with members last week about new security protocols to assure a safe, smooth transition process. Further details will be shared with members. Contact: Rich Popp
TEA Visit
Jacob Williams, Ken Rutter, David Schumann, Chris Gowder and Richard Montgomery traveled to Jacksonville last Wednesday to visit The Energy Authority (TEA). The team met with TEA’s executive staff to learn about their energy market initiatives, risk assessment practices and Connected Analytics platform. The team identified a few areas where FMPA and TEA can work together to explore potential value for FMPA’s members. More analysis and discussion is required before any potential actions will be pursued.
All-Requirements Project September Load Statistics
The All-Requirements Project’s peak demand for October was 1100 MW, which occurred October 29th between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. The project’s load factor for October 2019 was 67.24%. 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 total energy consumption was 11.0% higher than the budget, and the monthly peak was 3.2% higher than the budgeted peak. A graph showing the All-Requirements Project hourly load for September is available on the Portal. Contact: Jason Wolfe
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THIS WEEK
ARP Telephonic Rate Workshop
The ARP Executive Committee meets Tuesday at 2 p.m. via conference call for the monthly All-Requirements Project Rate Workshop. The committee will review the October ARP rate calculation and discuss the necessity and frequency of the monthly telephonic meetings. Contact: Jason Wolfe
NERC Workshop
Emmanuel Hernandez, John Lee and Carl Turner travel to Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s workshop on new load models. FMPA will begin using the models as planning coordinators, which will impact how FMPA models member load and planning studies.
Annual Transmission Studies
Emmanuel Hernandez, John Lee and Carl Turner travel to Fort Pierce and Lake Worth Beach on Wednesday to discuss the annual transmission study that FMPA conducts for All-Requirements Project members plus Lake Worth Beach. They travel to Leesburg on Thursday, Jacksonville Beach on Nov. 18, and Kissimmee and Ocala on Nov. 20.
Member City Visits
Susan Schumann attends New Smyrna Beach’s City Commission meeting on Tuesday to discuss the city’s approval to participate in the Solar Project Phase II. Cairo Vanegas travels to New Smyrna Beach on Thursday for a day-long workshop to refine the city’s grid modernization plan.
GridEx V Workshop
Carter Manucy, Dale Ray and other FMPA employees, along with Treasure Coast and Cane Island employees, participate in the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Grid Security Exercise on Wednesday and Thursday. The exercise is designed to help utilities test their incident response plans, emergency communications and mutual assistance, enabling utilities to strengthen their crisis response functions and other protocols.
Planned Maintenance Outages
Cane Island Unit 1 goes offline on Wednesday for planned maintenance. The unit is scheduled to come back online on Sunday. Cane Island Unit 3 comes back online on Friday after its planned maintenance outage. Cane Island Unit 4 goes offline on Saturday for maintenance and is scheduled to come back online on Nov. 30. Contact: David Schumann
Treasure Coast Energy Center Visit
Jacob Williams, Ken Rutter, David Schumann and Tim Jackson travel to Treasure Coast Energy Center on Wednesday to celebrate plant performance for fiscal 2019. The plant achieved its goals in the areas of low-cost power, reliability and regulatory compliance.
PVC Conduit and Fittings Bid
FMPA opens a bid for PVC conduit and fittings on Thursday for work with Beaches Energy Services, city of Bushnell and city of Newberry. FMPA’s first collaborative bid for Wastewater Pipe, Valves & Fittings will open Nov. 26 for work with city of St. Cloud and city of Bushnell. Contact: Sharon Samuels
Harmony Solar Site Visit
Ryan Dumas and Susan Schumann visit the Harmony Solar Energy Center on Thursday and Friday to prepare for the Florida Municipal Solar Project’s groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 18.
Cyber Defense Competition
Konrad Lisiewicz and Carter Manucy are two of more than 300 volunteers participating in the Department of Energy’s Cyber Defense Competition on Friday and Saturday. The competition focuses on the defensive nature of cyber security. Carter will be one of the red team leads. The red teams attack the industrial networks and devices defended by more than 700 students from over 100 universities across the country. The competition is held in 10 national labs across the country with the goal of educating students about industrial cyber security and to get them interested in a job in the utility sector. More information can be found on the event’s website.
Special Dates
Congratulations to David Schumann, who celebrates 17 years with FMPA on Monday, Nov. 11.
Congratulations to Ryan Dumas, who celebrates nine years with FMPA on Friday, Nov. 15.
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COMING UP
FMSP Groundbreaking Ceremony
Members participating in the Florida Municipal Solar Project (FMSP) will celebrate the commencement of construction for the project at the Harmony Solar Energy Center in Osceola County on Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. Contact: Ryan Dumas
HR Roundtable
Tuesday is the deadline to register for FMPA’s Human Resources Roundtable on Nov. 20 in Orlando. The roundtable provides a forum to share information on best practices, policies, procedures, laws and more. Registration is free, and lunch will be provided. Contact: Sharon Samuels
Public Power Cybersecurity Summit and Scorecard
The American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Cybersecurity Summit is Nov. 18-20 in Nashville. Members are encouraged to complete the Public Power Cybersecurity Scorecard, an online self-assessment tool to assess security levels for cyber risks. FMPA staff is available to help members complete the scorecard. Contact: Carol Chinn
Purchasing Roundtable
Registration is open for FMPA’s Purchasing Roundtable on Dec. 5 at FMPA’s Orlando office. The event provides a forum for purchasing personnel to meet with peers from other member utilities to discuss procedures, policies, practices, industry changes and other topics of interest. Registration is free, and lunch will be provided. Contact: Sharon Samuels
Substation Training
FMPA’s Substation Training series continues Dec. 9-10 at OUC’s Engineering Building with a course on confined space hazard mitigation. The session topics include: 1) identifying substation confined space, 2) the difference between permit and non-permit confined space, 3) review of lockout/tagout, ventilation, atmospheric monitoring, 3) entry requirements, and 4) rescue procedures. Courses are tailored to the specific equipment of the participating utilities, where possible. Registration is $900 for the two-day session, and lunch will be provided. Contact: Sharon Samuels
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INDUSTRY NEWS
PSC Approves Storm Hardening Rules
The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) approved new rules last Tuesday allowing utilities to recover storm hardening costs through a separate cost-recovery mechanism, based on a three-year cost estimate, versus through the utility’s base rate. The approved rules allow utilities to earn a rate of return on the storm hardening projects. The Florida Office of Public Counsel and consumer groups expect electric bills to increase following the PSC’s ruling.
PSC Elects New Chairman
The Florida Public Service Commission elected Commissioner Gary Clark as chairman effective Jan. 2, 2020, for a two-year term. Clark has been on the commission since 2017. Previous to his time on the commission, Clark served as deputy secretary of land and recreation for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, where he supervised the Division of State Lands, and 174 state parks and trails. He also served as chairman for the Florida Communities Trust governing board and the Florida Acquisition and Restoration Council.
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FMPA Weekly is published by FMPA for employees and governing boards of FMPA member utilities. Questions or comments about this newsletter may be directed to Melisa Inanc or Rachel Ilardi 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 learn more.
Have a question, comment or story idea for the newsletter? FMPA welcomes your feedback at any time. Contact: Melisa Inanc or Rachel Ilardi
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Florida Municipal Power Agency
8553 Commodity Circle
Orlando, FL 32819-9002
Tel 407 355-7767
Fax 407 355-5794
www.fmpa.com
Community Power. Statewide Strength. ®
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