FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Dec. 21, 2015
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LAST WEEK
The Audit and Risk Oversight Committee met last Monday via conference call to conduct an exit interview with FMPA’s independent auditors, Purvis Gray & Company. Contact: Rich Popp
Mayfield Bill
Nick Guarriello sent letters last Monday to FMPA’s representatives in the Florida House and Senate urging them to oppose House Bill 579 by Rep. Debbie Mayfield and Senate Bill 840 by Senator Wilton Simpson. This proposed legislation would add new layers of unnecessary and burdensome regulation on FMPA and its members. Last week, rumors were confirmed that Rep. Mayfield plans to amend her bill to add an additional level of regulation beyond what was included in the original bill. In the amendment, any municipal electric utility that is a member of FMPA and serves any customer outside of their city limits would have its electric rates and charges subject to approval by an administrative law judge in Tallahassee. The only right to challenge the judge’s ruling would be a filing in the Court of Appeal. The Division of Administrative Hearings has no expertise in electric ratemaking and is not accountable to any community. This amendment has a direct impact on 28 public power communities that will result in higher electric bills due to significant increases in regulatory costs, and it takes ratemaking authority away from local goveing boards. The Florida Municipal Electric Association sent updated issue briefs to its members last week and encouraged them to contact their legislators. Contact: FMEA or Mark McCain
Audit and Risk Oversight Committee
The Audit and Risk Oversight Committee met last Thursday and approved recommending to the Board of Directors the St. Lucie audit report for 2013-2014. The full agenda package is available on the Member Portal. Contact:Rich Popp
Board of Directors
FMPA’s Board of Directors met last Thursday and approved: 1) authorization for the American Public Power Association’s PowerPAC to contact FMPA Board members and FMPA senior staff, and 2) the St. Lucie audit report for 2013-2014. The full agenda package is available on the Member Portal. Contact:Nick Guarriello
ARP Executive Committee
The ARP Executive Committee met last Thursday and approved: 1) the Executive Committee 2016 meeting schedule, 2) amendment to the U.S. Sugar Interconnection Agreement, and 3) acceptance of the management consultant’s report for Auditor General Findings Nos. 1 and 14. An action item was pulled by staff related to a term sheet for All-Requirements Project Series 2008A and 2009A bond refunding until a later date. The full agenda package is available on the Member Portal. Contact:Nick Guarriello
RFP for Executive Search Consultant
FMPA issued a request for proposal (RFP) last Friday for executive search consulting services to conduct a retained executive search for FMPA’s next General Manager and CEO. Proposals are due Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. The Board of Directors agreed to issue the RFP during its workshop last Wednesday where the members discussed filling the pending General Manager vacancy. Contact: Nick Guarriello
ARP Conservation Program
The team working to update the ARP Conservation Program’s energy conservation videos completed filming last week and will soon begin post-production work. The new videos will be shorter, making them more compatible with today’s user preferences and technology. Plans are to release the new videos in January. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
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THIS WEEK
Holiday Office Closures
FMPA’s offices will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of the Christmas holiday.
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 Dec. 20. Contact: Jim Arntz
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COMING UP
FMEA Legislative Rally
Registration is now open for the Florida Legislative Rally scheduled for Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 in Tallahassee. With legislation pending that affects municipal electric utilities, it is important for every utility to be represented at the Rally. Registration information is available on the Florida Municipal Electric Association’s website. Contact: Amy Zubaly at FMEA
APPA’s Winter Education Institute
FMPA and the Florida Municipal Electric Association are co-hosting the American Public Power Association’s Winter Education Institute scheduled for Feb. 8 through Feb. 12, 2016, at Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee. The institute offers 14 in-depth training courses for various levels of staff in public power utilities. Participants can focus on a single topic or take multiple courses for comprehensive training. New this year is a one-day class on distributed generation, which will discuss: 1) evaluating and designing rate structures for distributed energy resources, 2) how to properly value distributed generation, and 3) industry rate trends for customer-sited generation. There is a $100 discount for people who attend more than one course or who attend with a colleague. Visit APPA’s website for registration and additional information.
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Natural Gas Prices Fall to Nearly 17-Year Low
Natural-gas prices fell to a nearly 17-year low last Friday as unseasonably warm weather has reduced demand and excess natural gas has increased supply to put downward pressure on prices. Costs for the front-month January contract was $1.77 per mmBtu, down 51% from a year ago and the lowest since March 1999. This is the first time since 2012 that U.S. natural gas prices have fallen below $2 per mmBtu. One year ago the price was $3.64 per mmBtu. Prices in 2015 have decreased 35%.
Congress Approves Spending, Tax Bill with Tax Credit Extender for Renewables
Congress approved a big spending and tax bill last week that would, among other things, extend the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar and wind projects. House and Senate leaders and the White House reached agreement on a package that includes a spending bill in excess of $1 trillion, a tax bill valued at $600 billion, and several additional legislative initiatives relating to cybersecurity, dams and oil exports. Lawmakers agreed to lift a 40-year-old ban on exports of crude oil and, in exchange, also agreed to extend the tax breaks for wind and solar power. The bill extends three renewable energy tax credits, including a 1.5 cent per kilowatt-hour wind energy production tax credit, a 30% solar property ITC, and a 30% residential energy efficient property credit that can apply to solar electric property.
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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
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Florida Municipal Power Agency
8553 Commodity Circle
Orlando, FL 32819-9002
Tel 407 355-7767
Fax 407 355-5794
http://www.fmpa.com
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