FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
March 7, 2016
__________________________________________________________
LAST WEEK
Cane Island Power Park
Cane Island Unit 2 repairs continue after the unit was taken offline last October for an unscheduled maintenance outage to replace the compressor and combustion turbine. FMPA has been working with its property insurance provider, FM Global, and GE to keep repairs on schedule. FM Global made a $3.2 million payment last week toward the estimated $7 million repair. The unit is expected to come back online this spring. The cost of the outage will not have a material impact on rates or FMPA’s generation capacity. Contact: Rich Popp or David Schumann
All-Requirements Project February Load Statistics
The All-Requirements Project’s non-Contract Rate of Delivery peak for February was 997 MW, which occurred Feb. 11 between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. The project’s load factor for February was 57%. 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 101% of the budgeted peak, and energy was 104% of the budget. A graph showing the All-Requirements Project hourly load for February is available on the Member Portal. Contact: Jim Arntz
__________________________________________________________
THIS WEEK
APPA Legislative Rally
Representatives from 13 Florida cities are in Washington, D.C., on Monday through Wednesday attending the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Legislative Rally. While in the nation’s capital, participants will meet with Senate and House members or their staff to discuss federal legislative issues related to electric utilities, including environmental regulations, energy legislation and tax-exempt financing. A copy of the Federal Legislative Issues Summary is available on FMPA.com. Contact: Mark McCain
Welcome, Ian Beason and Brandon McCormick
Please welcome FMPA’s new Electrical Asset Engineer Ian Beason and FMPA’s new Regulatory Compliance Specialist Brandon McCormick, who join FMPA on Monday. Ian comes to FMPA from Duke Energy, where he served as Senior Engineer. Brandon comes to FMPA from Siemens Energy, where he served as a Logistics Lead. We are happy to have both Ian and Brandon as members of the FMPA team.
Staff Title Changes
Three FMPA employees in Power Resources have new job titles effective Monday. David Schumann, formerly Generation Fleet O&M Manager, will now serve as Power Generation Fleet Manager. Joe McKinney, formerly Operations & Short-term Planning Manager, will now serve as System Operations Manager. Carl Turner, formerly Transmission Planning Manager, will now serve as Engineering Services Manager.
ARP Telephonic Rate Workshop
The ARP Executive Committee meets Wednesday at 2 p.m. via conference call for the monthly All-Requirements Project Rate Workshop. The agenda includes: 1) an update on natural gas markets and liquidity, 2) an overview of February operations, loads, costs, and rate calculations, and 3) estimated rates for March and April. Contact: Jim Arntz
Member Relations Survey
Board of Directors representative are reminded to complete the biennial Member Relations Survey by March 17. The survey is part of the Board’s strategic plan, so every member is encouraged to participate. A link to the seven-question online survey was emailed to Board representatives on Feb. 25 by Nick Guarriello. Results of the survey will be shared with members and staff in May. Contact: Mark McCain
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 March 6. Contact: Jim Arntz
Special Dates
Congratulations to Sue Utley, who celebrates 12 years with FMPA on Tuesday, March 8.
Congratulations to John Lee, who celebrates 29 years with FMPA on Wednesday, March 9.
__________________________________________________________
COMING UP
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors will meet March 17 at 9 a.m. in the Board room. Contact: Nick Guarriello
ARP Executive Committee
The ARP Executive Committee will meet March 17 in the Board room at 9:30 a.m. or immediately following the Board of Directors. Contact: Nick Guarriello
Meter Tech Roundtable
FMPA will host a Meter Tech Roundtable on March 31 at 10 a.m. in Leesburg. The roundtable provides a forum for meter technicians and meter maintenance staff to discuss topics such as operating procedures, equipment, safety, training and more. Leesburg Electric also will provide a tour of its operations center and discuss its advanced metering infrastructure implementation. The roundtable is open to anyone who has an interest in metering or meter-related topics, including meter techs and meter shop staff. The roundtable is free, and lunch will be provided. Registration is requested by March 23. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
__________________________________________________________
INDUSTRY NEWS
Chief Justice Denies Effort to Halt EPA MACT Rule
Chief Justice John Roberts denied a request last Thursday to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) aimed at reducing mercury and other air emissions from power plants. A coalition of 20 states asked the Supreme Court for an emergency stay of the rule. Chief Justice Roberts denied the request without comment and without referring it to the other justices, a signal that he believes the request did not make a strong case for action by the high court. The rule will remain in effect while a lawsuit continues over whether EPA properly weighed costs and benefits in drafting the rule. The agency plans to issue a final supplemental consideration of cost in April, according to an EPA spokesperson.
PSC Approves Energy Rate Decreases for FPL and Duke
The Florida Public Service Commission approved requests from Florida Power & Light (FPL) and Duke Energy Florida to decrease fuel rates beginning April 1. The monthly bill of a typical Duke customer using 1,000 kWh will decrease $5.83 to $108.32. A typical FPL customer using 1,000 kWh per month will pay $91.73, a $1.65 decrease. However, FPL expects its $1.2 billion Port Everglades power plant to come online April 1. At that time, a previously approved base rate increase of $1.57 will take effect per FPL’s 2012 rate settlement agreement. FPL also notified the PSC that it plans to request a series of base-rate increases from 2017 through 2019 totaling 24%. In March, FPL plans to file a $1.325 billion base-rate increase, equal to $13 per 1,000 kWh, to include three base-rate hikes during the period from 2017 through 2020.
26 GW of New Generating Capacity Coming in 2016
Electric generating facilities expect to add more than 26 GW of utility-scale generating capacity during 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Most of these additions would come from solar (9.5 GW), natural gas (8.0 GW) and wind (6.8 GW). If actual additions reflect these plans, 2016 will be the first year in which utility-scale solar additions exceed additions from any other single energy source, EIA said. The overall growth of the solar industry is partly attributed to cost reductions, recently extended federal tax cuts and beneficial state policies. This year’s solar growth is expected to be more than what the industry added in the past three years combined.
__________________________________________________________
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 Joscelyn Bivins 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 Joscelyn Bivins
__________________________________________________________
Florida Municipal Power Agency
8553 Commodity Circle
Orlando, FL 32819-9002
Tel 407 355-7767
Fax 407 355-5794
http://www.fmpa.com
Community Power. Statewide Strength. ®