FMPA Weekly | April 26, 2021 | Member Edition

 

April 26, 2021

TOP NEWS                                                       

Solar Project Website Launch
FMPA launched a solar generation website last week as part of the Florida Municipal Solar Project (FMSP). The website shows near real-time solar generation and associated environmental benefits from the Harmony Solar Energy Center and the Taylor Creek Solar Energy Center. The two solar sites provide clean, emissions-free energy to six Florida cities, including Fort Pierce, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee, Ocala and Orlando. Since coming online in June 2020, the sites have generated nearly 300,000 megawatt hours, enough energy to power approximately 38,000 homes per year. The sites have also reduced carbon emissions equivalent to 1) Eliminating approximately 210,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, 2) Taking more than 45,000 vehicles off the road annually, or, 3) Planting approximately 3.5 million trees in 10 years. The FMSP will add three more solar farms in 2023 for a total of 1.5 million solar panels that will generate nearly 375 megawatts. The efforts in this project are just one example of how FMPA is working to reduce carbon emissions 50% from 2005 levels, one of the Agency’s three strategic priorities.

 

Ten-Year Site Plan
FMPA filed the All-Requirements Project’s (ARP) Ten-Year Site Plan on April 1 with the Florida Public Service Commission. The plan describes the ARP’s estimated power generating needs for the next 10 years and identifies the location and type of proposed long-term generation capacity and transmission additions. Based on recent load projections, the ARP is expected to meet its generation capacity requirements with existing resources through 2027. The 2021 Ten-Year Site Plan is available on the Portal. Contact: Navid Nowakhtar

CREAC Meeting
FMPA’s Conservation and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee (CREAC) met last Wednesday and approved two action items. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Susan Schumann

 

Protecting Florida’s Critical Power Infrastructure Event
FMPA in partnership with ICS cybersecurity company Dragos is hosting a cybersecurity event on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at FMPA’s Orlando office. The event will share insights and recommendations from experts in the cybersecurity field on protecting Florida’s power infrastructure against cyber threats. The event is available virtually for those who cannot attend in-person. Contact: Carter Manucy

Monthly Technology Call
The Information Technology (IT) and Operations Technology (OT) teams meet Wednesday at 10 a.m. for the monthly member call. Participants will discuss current cybersecurity topics and best practices. FMPA encourages IT/OT team members at member cities to join these calls. Contact: Carter Manucy

 

AMI Roundtable
FMPA will hold an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Roundtable on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Orlando office. Nearly 50 people have registered for both the in-person and teleconference option. The roundtable provides an opportunity for members to discuss topics such as AMI technology, equipment, training, and more. Contact: Cairo Venegas

 

Planned Outage Story
Treasure Coast Energy Center which began its planned outage April 13 returned to service on Saturday, five days earlier than expected. Contact: David Schumann

 

Reliability Support
One of FMPA’s management goals is to help members enhance the reliability of their systems. Mike McCleary and Cairo Vanegas have visited several member cities in the past year to speak with lineworkers on the importance of accurate record keeping for outages. Accurate record keeping is important to ensure outage times and number of customers affected are calculated correctly. This allows for enhanced reliability reporting for member cities. The FMPA team is available to offer this training to other member utilities. Interested members can contact Mike or Cairo for assistance.

 

Purchasing Roundtable
The FMPA Purchasing Roundtable is scheduled for May 13 at 10 a.m. at the Orlando office. The roundtable provides a forum for purchasing personnel to meet with their peers from other member utilities to discuss work procedures, policies and practices, industry changes and other topics of interest. A teleconference option is available. Registration is free. Contact: Sharon Samuels

SPECIAL DATES

Anniversaries
Juan Bailey | April 28 | 13 years
Rich Popp | April 29 | 19 years
Jamie Noon | May 2 | 16 years

COMING UP

Finance Committee
May 19 | 2 p.m. | FMPA Orlando Office

Governing Board Meetings
May 20 | 9 a.m. | FMPA Orlando Office

Distribution Reliability Roundtable
June 17 | 10 a.m. | FMPA Orlando Office

 

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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 Amy Raleigh. Check out FMPA’s Glossary, for frequently mentioned terms.