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FMPA
Dedicated $30 Million Power Plant in Key West
ORLANDO,
Fla., Sept. 25, 2006 – The Florida Municipal
Power Agency (FMPA) hosted a dedication ceremony Friday, Sept.
22, 2006, for a $30 million, high-efficiency electric generating
unit in Key West, Fla., that serves municipal utility customers
in the lower Keys and other Florida cities.
FMPA completed
construction in June on the 47 MW low sulfur oil-fired combustion
turbine located at the Keys Energy Services’ (KEYS)
Stock Island Generating Facility. The new power plant is owned
by FMPA and operated by KEYS, the municipal electric utility
serving Key West and the lower Florida Keys.
“This
efficient, new peaking resource is an important part of FMPA’s
statewide power supply mix,” said FMPA General Manager
and CEO Roger Fontes. “This unit represents a significant
part of FMPA’s plan to provide reliable, affordable
power to the lower Keys and to FMPA’s rapidly growing
member communities.”
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 project
met or surpassed all goals for schedule, cost, quality and
safety. The unit’s operational efficiency exceeds the
manufacturer’s performance guarantee, and the entire
project was completed under the $30.4 million budget.
The new
plant enhances electric reliability for all of FMPA’s
customers, especially residents of the lower Keys, including
Key West, Stock Island and Big Pine Key.
Lynne
Tejeda, KEYS General Manager and CEO, said, “This new
unit is a tremendous asset in our area in providing peak demand
power generation as well as back up power especially after
a hurricane.”
Maintaining
reliable electric service 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 of its wholesale power from FMPA in 1998,
FMPA pledged to maintain on-island generation equivalent to
60% of KEYS customers’ electrical demand. Locating FMPA
generation within KEYS’ service territory enables the
utility to continue serving most of its customers’ electricity
needs if the tie-line is out of service, even for a prolonged
period.
The new
unit will also support the reliability of Florida’s
statewide transmission grid. The unit provides power during
times of peak demand, and it can do so as much as 20% more
efficiently than some of the units that currently provide
a peaking function. This plant also can be started quickly,
so it can be called on when power is urgently needed over
the entire statewide transmission system.
# # #
Florida
Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) is a wholesale power company
owned by 30 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 1.9 million Floridians. FMPA’s members
include Alachua, Bartow, Blountstown, 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
Assistant General Manager,
Public Relations and Human Resources
(407) 355-7767
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