Thirty Years Together, 1978-2008

FMPA’s member cities have much to celebrate this year, as they commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Agency’s formation.

REMEMBERING OUR HISTORY
Reflecting on the pivotal events that shape an organization’s history can provide insight into where the organization is today and where it is headed in the future. That’s why the celebration of a milestone anniversary is an important opportunity to record, retell and celebrate history. The following projects were undertaken this year to preserve FMPA’s history and share its story:

Sum of Our Efforts History Booklet
This 24-page booklet tells FMPA’s history through the stories of the Agency’s defining moments. Originally developed in 2003, the booklet was updated this year and expanded with a new story about FMPa’s transition from a power supply project taker to a project maker. An electronic copy is available online by clicking here.

Historical Display
This seven foot by seven foot display tells the story of the Agency’s first 30 years through stories, photographs and quotes. The display will reside in FMPA’s lobby throughout 2008. An electronic copy is available online by clicking here.

Photographic Mosaic
This work of art is composed of more than 550 photographs from FMPA’s archives into one unified image that celebrates the Agency’s 30th anniversary. A copy of the artwork will hang on permanent display in FMPA’s office.

FMPA Dispatch
A special issue of the FMPA Dispatch was released in coordination with the Agency’s 30th anniversary. An electronic copy is available online by clicking here.

DEFINING MOMENTS THAT FORGED FMPA’S CHARACTER
An indomitable one-for-all-and-all-for-one spirit, evidenced during the defining moments in FMPA’s history, best describes the organization that 30 community-owned electric utilities have created.

Birth of Joint Action: Three decades ago, in the face of mounting competitive pressure, municipal electric utilities began forming regional “joint action agencies” that allowed individual utilities to participant collectively in power pools, to buy wholesale power in a group and to jointly finance generating plants. In the summer of 1977, an organizational committee was formed to establish the structure of a joint action agency in Florida. Less than a year later, FMPA held its initial meeting on Feb. 24, 1978. Twenty-three cities attended.

First Joint Action Project: Before FMPA was formed, a group of 20 Florida cities came together and asked for ownership interests in an investor-owned utility’s nuclear units. The ownership request was denied, so in 1974, the cities intervened in the plant’s license application. After eight years of legal action, the cities reached a comprehensive settlement to participate in the unit, and the first power supply project came to fruition.

Establishing All-Requirements: With little competition among wholesale power suppliers, municipal utilities began to look for wholesale power supply alternatives. They turned to FMPA to become an all-requirements power supplier for member cities that purchased all their wholesale power needs from private power companies. Bushnell, one of the smallest municipal electric utilities in Florida, was the first to sign with FMPA, followed by Green Cove Springs, Jacksonville Beach, Leesburg and Ocala. The project began serving all the power needs for those five members May 1, 1986. All-Requirements has grown into FMPA’s largest power supply project serving 15 members today.

Gaining Equal Transmission Access: In 1989, FMPA’s members wanted to purchase the same type of electric transmission service that investor-owned utilities used themselves. FMPA was able to contract for this service from one private power company, but another utility refused, even though they were required to do so by agreement with the Justice Department and Nuclear Regulatory Commission. FMPA negotiated with the company for two years but to no avail. In 1991, with no other satisfactory option available, FMPA filed a lawsuit for breach of contract and antitrust violations. As a result, FMPA obtained equal access to transmission service and significantly expanded All-Requirements to include other cities.

Project Taker to Project Maker: Within a few short years, FMPA’s All-Requirements Project grew into one of the largest municipal utilities in Florida and the United States. All-Requirements cities needed to modernize their fleet of generation plants, while meeting their customers’ growing power needs in an economical and environmentally friendly manner. To meet this challenge, the Agency developed in 2004 a comprehensive, long-term power supply plan. This plan showed significant growth in electricity demand over the next 20 years. Now that All-Requirements has grown, it had capacity needs that were large enough to justify building its own units and urgent enough that FMPA could not wait to be invited to participate in another utility’s plant. FMPA’s long-term plan recommended two new generation projects: a simple cycle combustion turbine to begin operating in 2006 and a combined cycle unit to begin operating in 2008. The simple cycle combustion turbine was successfully completed in June 2006, and the combined cycle unit is scheduled to begin commercial operation in late spring 2008.