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News
Releases
FMPA Breaks Ground on Reliable, Efficient New Power
Plant
ORLANDO,
Fla., Nov. 9, 2005 – The Florida Municipal
Power Agency (FMPA) broke ground Monday on the construction
of its newest power resource, a modern, high-efficiency power
plant in Key West, Fla.
“Today’s groundbreaking is an important milestone
in FMPA’s plans to continue providing reliable, affordable
power to our growing member communities,” said FMPA
General Manager and CEO Roger Fontes.
FMPA is a wholesale power agency owned by municipal electric
utilities. FMPA supplies all the power needs of 15 communities
including the lower Florida Keys, Bushnell, Clewiston, Fort
Meade, Fort Pierce, Green Cove Springs, Havana, Jacksonville
Beach, Kissimmee, Lake Worth, Leesburg, Newberry, Ocala,
Starke and Vero Beach.
The
new power plant will be owned by FMPA and operated by Keys
Energy Services (KEYS), the municipal electric utility
serving Key West and the lower Florida Keys. The new generator
will be a 42 MW low sulfur oil-fired combustion turbine,
located at KEYS’ Stock Island Generating Facility.
The
new plant is expected to enhance electric reliability for
all of FMPA’s customers, especially residents of
Key West. Maintaining reliability is a special challenge
in Key West, which is connected to the mainland by a 120-mile
high voltage transmission line. The tie-line gives KEYS access
to low-cost power from FMPA’s statewide power resources,
but it can be vulnerable to damage from severe weather.
When
KEYS began purchasing all its wholesale power from FMPA
in 1998, FMPA pledged to maintain on-island generation
equivalent to 60% of KEYS customers’ electrical demand.
On-island generation enables KEYS to continue serving most
of its customers even if the tie-line is out of service.
The
new unit will also support the reliability of Florida’s
statewide transmission grid. The unit will provide power
mostly during times of peak demand, and it can do so as much
as 20% more efficiently than some of the units currently
serving that “peaking” function. This plant also
can be started quickly, so it can be called on when power
is urgently needed to keep electricity flowing over the entire
transmission system.
“A combustion turbine plant provides flexibility
to efficiently and reliably meet customers’ demand
for power, as it varies with the weather or hour of the day,” said
Fontes. “This efficient, new peaking resource will
be an important part of FMPA’s statewide power supply
mix.”
# # #
Florida
Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) is a wholesale power company
owned by 29 municipal electric utilities. FMPA provides
economies of scale in power generation and related services
to support community-owned electric utilities. The members
of FMPA serve approximately 1.8 million Floridians. FMPA’s
members include Alachua, Bartow, Bushnell, Chattahoochee,
Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Green Cove
Springs, Havana, Homestead, Jacksonville Beach, Key West,
Kissimmee, Lake Worth, Lakeland, Leesburg, Moore Haven, Mount
Dora, New Smyrna Beach, Newberry, Ocala, Orlando, Quincy,
St. Cloud, Starke, Vero Beach, Wauchula and Williston. Additional
information is available on the Internet at www.fmpa.com.
FMPA Contact:
Mark McCain
Public Relations/Public Affairs Manager
(407) 355-7767
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