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Aug. 24, 2020 |
TOP NEWS
State of the Agency Presentation
FMPA General Manager and CEO Jacob Williams gave his annual State of the Agency presentation last Wednesday in a video posted to FMPA’s Facebook and Vimeo pages. The presentation featured interviews with members to highlight the value FMPA provides to customers and their communities. The presentation also included highlights from the past year and a look ahead to the next five to seven years, which includes a goal to keep power costs at or below $70 per MWh, a goal to reduce the average outage duration (SAIDI) for Florida’s municipals to 60 minutes, and a goal to reduce carbon dioxide emission levels by 50% from 2005 levels. Members are encouraged to watch the video presentation and share it with their staff and customers.
Homestead Reduces Power Costs
Homestead Public Services announced last week a 12% reduction in energy bills effective in September, equal to a decrease of $14 per month for the average residential customer. The new rates will make Homestead’s residential rates the lowest since 2004, lower than the neighboring investor-owned utility and among the lowest-cost utilities in Florida. Barbara Quinones, director of electric utility, said the savings were accomplished by negotiating new wholesale power purchase contracts and cost cutting at the utility. The City Council of Homestead approved in late-2019 a power purchase agreement with FMPA for 15 MW of capacity and energy from January 2020 through December 2026. This sale helps Homestead lower costs and monetizes the value of surplus generation for the financial benefit of FMPA’s All-Requirements Project members.
Member Relations Survey
FMPA launches its 2020 Member Relations Survey on Monday. FMPA’s mission is to provide low-cost, reliable and clean power plus value-added services to its members, and the survey gives FMPA an opportunity to get valuable feedback to know how we are meeting members’ needs. FMPA encourages members to participate in the survey. Responses are due by Sept. 21. Contact: Melisa Inanc
Pole Inspection and Treatment Services Bid
FMPA received three responses last week for the Request for Proposals (RFP) for Provision of Pole Inspection and Treatment Services. The responses are currently under evaluation. Additional information will be provided to members. Contact: Sharon Samuels
Utility Tree Trimming and Vegetation Management
FMPA issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Utility Tree Trimming and Vegetation Management last week. The RFP is available on FMPA’s website. Proposals are due Sep. 15. Contact: Sharon Samuels
General Fund Transfer Survey
FMPA posted the results of the General Fund Transfer Survey to the Portal last week. The survey collects data on retail sales, total operating electric revenues and electric fund transfers. Results show the value of municipal electric utilities and the benefits that these transfers provide. Contact: Ann Beckwith
Finance Committee
FMPA’s Finance Committee met last Wednesday via teleconference. As part of this month’s meeting, the Audit Department presented FMPA’s credit card audit report to the Committee. The report assesses the effectiveness of FMPA’s internal control on credit card usage for fiscal year 2019. The full agenda package is available on the Portal.
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors met last Thursday in the Board room and approved one action item. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
ARP Executive Committee
The ARP Executive Committee met last Thursday and approved one action item. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Jacob Williams
APPA’s DEED Program
FMPA was awarded a grant in 2018 from the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments (DEED) program. The funding helped pay for a pilot project using single-phase reclosers to test reliability enhancements at municipal utilities of various size. Three FMPA members were selected to participate: Havana, Key West and Tallahassee. Cairo Vanegas presented the DEED project results at last week’s Board meeting.
Public Power Cybersecurity Scorecard
Four more members have completed the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Public Power Cybersecurity Scorecard. Members are encouraged to complete the Public Power Cybersecurity Scorecard, an online self-assessment tool to assess security levels for protection from a cyber risk. Konrad Lisiewicz, FMPA’s Senior Cybersecurity Analyst, is available to help members complete the assessment.
Linemen Training
Cairo Vanegas travels to two member cities this week to assist with linemen training. On Monday, Cairo travels to Clewiston to conduct training on rooftop solar photovoltaic systems. On Wednesday, he visits Alachua to conduct training on making proper electrical connections to improve reliability.
Mapping Efforts
Cairo Vanegas travels to Williston on Tuesday to review the city’s completed system map and discuss reliability concerns. FMPA has also assisted Havana, Moore Haven, Fort Meade and Chattahoochee in creating or updating their system maps. Interested members can contact Cairo Vanegas for more information.
Safety by Design
FMPA’s “Safety by Design” webinar series begins on Friday. The first webinar called “Risk Assessment and Job Briefings” is designed to highlight the importance of identifying hazards and assigning risk when performing work. Each webinar session is one-hour long and designed to engage participants through polls, questions and online responses. Contact: Sharon Samuels
AMI Workshop
FMPA hosts an AMI Workshop on Sept. 22 at the Orlando Office. The purpose of this meeting is to explore opportunities for creating value for FMPA’s cities by working together on AMI deployment. The workshop will discuss potential joint-action options in AMI and identify potential costs, benefits and risks of those options. The desired outcome of the workshop is to initially evaluate options and determine if any cities want to work together to further explore joint-action opportunities related to AMI. Contact: Mark McCain
Compliance Workshop
Truong Le sent a survey poll to members last week to determine interest in attendance for FMPA’s annual Compliance Workshop on Sept. 29 and 30. Members have the option to attend in person or via WebEx. The last day for members to respond to the poll is Tuesday.
SPECIAL DATES
Anniversaries
Sena Mitchell | Aug. 30 | 2 Years
COMING UP
AMI Workshop
Sept. 22 | 9 a.m. | FMPA’s Orlando Office
APPA Customer Connections Virtual Conference
Oct. 27 – 28 | Teleconference
TOP INDUSTRY NEWS
Duke Energy Florida to Decommission Crystal River Nuclear-Power Plant
Gov. DeSantis Appoints Representative Michael La Rosa to Florida PSC
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FMPA Weekly is published by FMPA’s Public Relations Department for staff and members. Questions about this newsletter may be directed to Melisa Inanc or Melanie Arsenault. Check out FMPA’s Glossary, for frequently mentioned terms.