FMPA Weekly
A weekly e-newsletter for FMPA members
Nov. 6, 2017
LAST WEEK
Stanton II Project Bond Refunding
FMPA closed Oct. 26 on approximately $72 million in refunding bonds for the Stanton II Project’s Series 2000 and 2004 bonds through BBVA bank. The transaction netted $432,000 in gross savings for the project, which was better than originally estimated. The interest rate was 2.53% for the Series 2000 bonds and 2.32% for the Series 2004 bonds. Contact: Linda Howard
Member Services Advisory Committee
Chairman Bill Conrad appointed three members to serve on the Member Services Advisory Committee last Monday: Billy Branch of Homestead, Brian Horton of Kissimmee and Dallas Lee of Newberry. The committee met last Wednesday and discussed: 1) Member Services Satisfaction Survey results, 2) update on FMPA salary survey process, 3) updates on purchasing and procurement services, and 4) overview of potential new initiatives. The full agenda package is available on the Portal. Contact: Mark McCain
Cane Island Unit 2
Cane Island Unit 2 retued to service last Thursday after a planned maintenance outage. Contact: David Schumann
Promoting Careers at Municipal Utilities
Mike McCleary and Sharon Smeenk attended the Florida School Counselor Association’s convention in Orlando last Thursday through Saturday to promote careers at municipal utilities. As exhibitors at the event, they encouraged counselors to inform students about job opportunities.
Joint Action Recruiting Program
Five job openings at municipal electric utilities were posted last week to the https://fmpa.com/careers/member-utilities-jobs/>
Grant Opportunities
Sharon Smeenk emailed a list of potential grant opportunities last Monday to interested FMPA members. The Member Services Department has a subscription to https://grantfinder.com/>
THIS WEEK
Introductory Visit
Mike McCleary travels to Mount Dora on Tuesday to continue his introductory meetings with FMPA member cities. Members who have not scheduled meetings with Mike are encouraged to do so by sending him an email.
APPA Customer Connections Conference
Jeff Grainger will be in Sacramento, Calif., through Wednesday attending the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Customer Connections Conference. The conference is APPA’s annual meeting for professionals in customer service, energy services, key accounts and public communications.
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) natural gas markets update, 2) overview of October loads, 3) resource update for October, and 4) review of October ARP rate calculation. Contact: Jason Wolfe
FMEA Energy Connections Conference
Mike McCleary and Sharon Smeenk attend the Florida Municipal Electric Association’s (FMEA) Energy Connections Conference on Wednesday and Thursday in St. Augustine. Mike will give a safety presentation on switching and tagging policies.
Vero Beach Review Session
The second review session for Vero Beach’s Consents and Waivers will be held via conference call on Thursday at 2 p.m. If you missed the first session last Friday and are not able to attend this week’s session, contact Jody Finklea to schedule a session.
Excellence as a Supervisor
The second and third modules of Series II of FMPA’s Excellence as a Supervisor training will be held Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at FMPA’s Orlando office. This training is designed for first-line supervisors, middle-level supervisors and prospective supervisors. Series II provides information on selection and development of employees, performance evaluations, employee motivation, leading change, as well as an overview of ensuring a harassment-free and respectful workplace. Lunch will be provided each day. Contact: Sharon Smeenk
Special Dates
Congratulations to David Schumann, who celebrates 15 years with FMPA on Saturday, Nov. 11.
COMING UP
Goveing Board Meetings
FMPA’s goveing boards will meet Nov. 16 in FMPA’s Orlando office. The Board of Directors meets at 9 a.m. and the Executive Committee meets at 9:30 a.m., or immediately following the Board of Directors meeting. Contact: Jacob Williams
Purchasing Roundtable
The deadline to https://fmpa.com/event/fmpa-purchasing-roundtable/>
Substation Training Series
A second session of FMPA’s Substation Training series will be held Jan. 23-24 at Orlando Utilities Commission’s Engineering Building. The topic for this session is substation print reading and troubleshooting. This hands-on course will cover: 1) reading and evaluating substation prints, 2) interpreting print symbols, and 3) using prints during electrical troubleshooting work tasks. The cost to register is $900 per person for the two-day session. Lunch will be provided. https://fmpa.com/event/substation-print-reading-troubleshooting-january-23-24-2018/>
INDUSTRY NEWS
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee released proposed tax-reform legislation last Thursday that would allow the current tax exemption for municipal bonds to remain largely the same. If approved, the plan would ban the issuance of private activity bonds, advance refunding bonds, tax credit bonds and tax-exempt municipal bonds for professional sports stadiums. It is estimated that the proposal would reduce personal income tax receipts and estate tax receipts by approximately $200 billion nationwide. Corporate and pass-through business receipts would also be reduced by $1 trillion over the next decade. The committee is expected to begin considering the proposal Monday. If it is approved by the committee, the full House is scheduled to consider the bill the week of Nov. 13.
NextEra Energy, the parent company of Florida Power & Light (FPL), bid last week to purchase Santee Cooper, a state-owned public power utility in South Carolina, making what NextEra called a “substantial offer to decision makers. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has indicated that he would like to sell Santee Cooper as a result of accruing $8 billion in debt, partially due to a canceled nuclear plant expansion at the V.C. Summer plant outside of Columbia, S.C. Duke Energy Corp. and Southe Co. have submitted informal bids. Dominion Energy Inc. is expected to submit a proposal within two weeks. McMaster’s office says they hope to send an offer for Santee Cooper to the Legislature in January.
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 Jeff Grainger or Holly Cammisa 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.
Have a question, comment or story idea for the newsletter? FMPA welcomes your feedback at any time. Contact: Jeff Grainger or Holly Cammisa
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
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