Company Profile
Florida Municipal Power Agency
Company Overview
WHAT WE DO
VISION
Being the preferred power and service provider for municipal electric utilities and the company of choice for employees.
MISSION
To provide competitively priced, reliable power and value-added services for municipal electric utilities through joint action.
VALUES
• Trust built through honesty, integrity, openness and respect
• Innovation and excellence
• Teamwork among employees and members
• Cultural diversity
• Employee recognition, reward and empowerment
• Environmentally responsible operations
Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) is a wholesale power company owned by municipal electric utilities. FMPA provides economies of scale in power generation and related services to support community-owned electric utilities.
JOINT ACTION
Each utility is locally owned and operated; however, municipal utilities share common concerns that can best be solved by working together. For example, by coordinating the power supply needs of several municipals, a larger, more efficient plant can be built, and other economies of scale help reduce the cost of power. In addition, through joint action, municipal utilities can obtain power from several power plants rather than depend on the operation and cost of fewer plants.
AUTHORITY
Local governments are authorized by Florida Statutes to enter together into mutually advantageous agreements that create a separate legal entity. FMPA was formed in 1978 as one such governmental legal entity. FMPA is specifically authorized under Florida law to undertake specific joint projects for its members and to issue tax-exempt bonds and other obligations to finance the costs of such projects. FMPA is also authorized to implement a pooled financing program for utility-related projects of FMPA and its members.
MEMBERSHIP
Thirty municipal electric systems, serving approximately 2 million Floridians, are members of FMPA. Each member appoints one representative to FMPA’s Board of Directors, which governs the Agency’s activities.
FINANCES
Due to the diverse needs of municipal electric systems, FMPA was established as a project-oriented agency. Under this structure, each member has the option whether or not to participate in a project. Members may join more than one project; however, each project is independent from the others, so no revenues or funds available from one project can be used to pay the costs of another project.
PROJECTS
FMPA has five power supply projects and one pooled financing project. The Agency supplies all the power needs for 14 of its members and some of the power needs for six of its members. Some members do not currently participate in a project. FMPA supplies nearly 50% of its members’ power needs.
STAFF
FMPA has a staff of approximately 70 full-time positions. In addition, FMPA has a few part-time positions and a few contract positions.
Company History
OUR HISTORY
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
In the face of mounting competitive pressure during the 1970s, municipal electric utilities around the United States began forming regional “joint action agencies” that allowed individual utilities to participate 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. During the time since the legal action began, FMPA had been formed, so the cities worked together through FMPA to coordinate the first joint action power supply project.
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. With the growth of All-Requirements came 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 power supply 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 in May 2008.
Benefits
FMPA’s COMPREHENSIVE BENEFITS PACKAGE
• Employer-paid medical coverage
• Voluntary dependent medical, dental and vision coverage
• Retirement plan
• Voluntary life insurance
• Group-term life insurance
• Accident death and dismemberment insurance
• Short-term and Long-term disability insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Employee assistance program
• Market-based compensation
• Merit pay increases
• Paid holidays
• Paid vacation
• Paid personal and sick time
• Floating holiday
• Tuition reimbursement
• Paid training and conference opportunities
• Alternative work schedules and flexible work days
• Wellness program and onsite gym
• Computer loan program
• Credit union membership
• Complimentary coffee, sodas and tea
• Annual summer and holiday parties
• Company car usage
• Business casual dress environment
• Casual Friday's