LatentStyleCount=371>
FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
May 26, 2015
LAST WEEK
Business Planning and Budget Committee
FMPA’s Business Planning and Budget Committee met last Wednesday and approved: 1) recommending the Agency’s fiscal 2016 budget to the ARP Executive Committee for final approval, and 2) recommending the Agency allocation to the Board of Directors for final approval. The next meeting of the committee is June 4 at 9 a.m. in Orlando to approve and recommend budgets for all power supply projects. Contact: Mark Larson
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors met last Thursday and approved: 1) appointment of a Nominating Committee (see separate story below), 2) a plan to investigate disaster recovery alteatives, 3) amendments to the Debt Policy regarding the selection of bond professionals, 4) amendments to the Investment Policy, and 5) approval of the St. Lucie Project exception to the Debt Risk Management Policy. The Board provided feedback on a new credit card policy and procedures, which will be brought back at the next meeting for action. Contact: Nick Guarriello
Nominating Committee
The Board of Directors appointed members to the Nominating Committee last Thursday for the purpose of recommending a slate of officers for 2015-2016. The Board re-appointed Howard McKinnon from the Town of Havana and Charles Revell from Mount Dora and filled a vacant position on the committee by electing Patrick Foster from Leesburg. In accordance with the Agency’s By-Laws, the Nominating Committee is composed of three directors: one representing small utilities, one representing medium-sized utilities, and one representing large utilities based on electric sales. Contact: Nick Guarriello
LatentStyleCount=371>
ARP Executive Committee
The ARP Executive Committee met last Thursday and approved: 1) a plan to investigate disaster recovery alteatives, 2) amendments to the Debt Policy regarding interest rate swaps, 3) amendments to the Debt Policy regarding the selection of bond professionals, 4) amendments to the Investment Policy, 5) transmission planning services for Lake Worth, 6) eliminating the FST hedging program, 7) issuing a request for qualifications for independent management consulting services (see separate story below), 8) resolutions for 2015B and 2015C bonds (see separate story below), and 9) a settlement-in-principal with General Electric and AEGIS for the Cane Island Unit 4 steam turbine damage claims. The committee decided not to act on a new credit card policy and procedures, which will be brought back at the next meeting for action. Contact: Nick Guarriello
Management Consulting Services RFQ
The ARP Executive Committee approved last Thursday a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for independent management consulting services. The draft RFQ document was approved with some changes to the scope of work. The consultant will be asked to provide analysis and recommendations on fuel hedging (Audit Finding No. 1) and the All-Requirements Project contract termination provisions (Audit Finding No. 14), specifically defining the terms “additional benefits and “excess amounts as it relates to the withdrawal payment calculation. Members also asked staff to broaden the RFQ distribution list by advertising it. Staff will incorporate members’ feedback into the RFQ and issue it as soon as possible. Contact: Nick Guarriello
Bond Financings
The ARP Executive Committee approved resolutions last Thursday authorizing a permanent financing structure for the Taylor swap termination costs and refunding some existing All-Requirements Project debt. Bonds are expected to be priced in mid-June and close at the end of July. Contact: Mark Larson
Distribution Reliability Annual Report
FMPA’s Distribution Reliability Measurement Program released its annual report last week. The report tracks the distribution system reliability for 24 municipal electric utilities and compares the results to publicly available data for Florida’s investor-owned utilities. The municipal electric utility group had the lowest CAIDI, meaning that customers who experienced an outage had the shortest average outage time. Municipal utilities have lead this category since 2003. Measuring distribution reliability enables utilities to benchmark their performance, evaluate best practices and ensure high levels of service to their customers. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Member Services Satisfaction Survey
FMPA launched a Member Services Satisfaction Survey last Wednesday, as directed by the Board of Directors’ strategic plan. The survey, developed in conjunction with FMPA’s Member Services Advisory Committee, measures satisfaction with FMPA’s services other than power supply. The survey consists of eight questions and should take less than five minutes to complete. Surveys were emailed to each city’s Board representative last week. The deadline to complete the survey is June 12. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Fitch Affirms FMPA Ratings and Stable Outlook
Fitch Ratings affirmed the credit ratings of FMPA’s power supply projects on May 15 and confirmed that the credit outlook is stable. Fitch rates as “A+ FMPA’s All-Requirements, Stanton, Stanton II and Tri-City projects and rates the St. Lucie Project as “A. Fitch said the credit strengths include strong contract obligations, sound credit quality of participants, contract step-up provisions, independent rate-setting authority and satisfactory financial metrics. Contact: Mark Larson
THIS WEEK
Voltage Modeling and Analysis Training
FMPA hosts training on voltage modeling and analysis for members of the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council (FRCC) on Wednesday and Thursday in the Board room. Software maker PowerGEM will review voltage analysis methods and provide training on its TARA software’s new voltage analysis features. Contact: Carl Tuer
ARP Budget Cost Center Teams
FMPA’s All-Requirements Project (ARP) Budget Cost Center Teams meet Tuesday through Thursday via conference call to discuss the proposed 2016 ARP budget. All ARP members are invited to participate and lea more about the factors that influence the ARP budget. The Debt and Capital Leases team meets Tuesday at 2 p.m. The Transmission team meets Tuesday at 3 p.m. The Contract Capacity team meets Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Direct Charges & Other team meets Wednesday at 10 a.m. The Fuels team meets Wednesday at 2 p.m. The Member Capacity team meets Wednesday at 3 p.m. The ARP-Owned Capacity team meets Thursday at 10 a.m. The Gas Transportation Capacity team meets Thursday at 2 p.m. The Purchased Power team meets Thursday at 3 p.m. The complete agenda package is available on the Member Portal. Contact: Mark Larson
Audit Response Report
FMPA will file with the Florida Auditor General by Friday a status report on the Agency’s response to the audit. The Joint Legislative Auditing Committee on March 30 directed FMPA to provide to the Auditor General within 60 days a written action plan detailing FMPA’s plans and timetable for addressing each of the 15 audit findings. Contact: Nick Guarriello
All-Requirements Project Weekly Load Statistics
The weekly update of the All-Requirements Project historical load graph has been posted on the Member Portal. The graph is updated through May 24. Contact: Jim Atz
COMING UP
ARP Planning Studies
FMPA’s Transmission Planning Department is working with All-Requirements Project members to complete planning studies of the members’ transmission and distribution systems. FMPA is in the process of scheduling meetings with each member to develop the studies. Contact: Carl Tuer
INDUSTRY NEWS
APPA Honors Four Municipal Utilities in Florida
The American Public Power Association (APPA) recognized four of Florida’s municipal electric utilities last week with its prestigious Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) designation. The RP3 designation was awarded to 97 pubic power utilities that demonstrated proficiency in reliability, safety, training and system improvement. The designation is active for three years, making a total of 191 out of 2,000 public power utilities with current RP 3 recognition. Congratulations to Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, Lakeland Electric, City of Tallahassee Electric Utility and Kissimmee Utility Authority for eaing the honor.
Taller Turbines Could Bring Wind Energy to Florida
A report released last Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Energy suggests that by installing taller wind turbines, wind energy can spread from 39 states to the rest of the nation. Those generators, usually 260 feet tall, would have to grow to as much as 460 feet tall to become economically worthwhile in states like Florida. When including the height of the blades, the turbine would reach nearly 660 feet tall, or more than 200 feet taller than Orlando’s tallest building.
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 Ryan Dumas or Nathalia Romano 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. (Click here for the Staff Directory.)
Have a question, comment or story idea for the newsletter? FMPA welcomes your feedback at any time. Contact: Ryan Dumas or Nathalia Romano
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
/>
Community Power. Statewide Strength. ®