The Florida Municipal Power Agency last week hosted a tour of its Sand Lake Energy Center for members of its Board of Directors and Policy Makers Liaisons Committee.
FMPA's Jay Butters, Daniel Oyspian, and Ken Rutter led the tour of the facility, which the Agency formally took ownership of in February.
Representatives from Beaches Energy Services, Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, the City of Green Cove Springs, Keys Energy Services, the City of Leesburg, Fla., the City of Ocala, Fla., and the City of Starke, Fla., participated in the site visit.
Also in attendance at the plant tour was Jeff Haas, APPA’s Senior Vice President, Membership and Marketing.
FMPA on Feb. 16 announced that it has taken ownership of an Orlando-area, natural gas combined cycle generation plant.
At the time, FMPA noted that the newly named Sand Lake Energy Center will supply 120 MW of electricity to 13 Florida communities, including Bushnell, Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce, Green Cove Springs, Havana, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee, Leesburg, Newberry, Ocala and Starke.
Resolution of Appreciation for City of Bartow’s Brad Hiers
Meanwhile, the FMPA Board of Directors on April 18 voted to adopt a Resolution of Appreciation for Brad Hiers, the Electric Utility Director for the City of Bartow, Fla.’s electric utility, who is retiring.
The resolution notes that Hiers has more than 46 years of experience in the power transmission and distribution industry at the City of Bartow Electric Utility.
During that time, “he has selflessly shared and committed to providing reliable and affordable power for the benefit of the city’s citizens and contributed countless hours to Florida Municipal Power Agency’s business activities during his nearly 10 years as a director on the FMPA Board of Directors,” the resolution said.
Hiers has served as the Electric Utility Director for the City of Bartow Electric Utility since 2018, following many previous years in different roles at the utility, beginning as a Winch Truck Operator before promoting to the advanced roles of Lineman, Troubleman, Foreman, Safety Coordinator, and Interim Electric Utility Director.
The resolution also notes that Hiers “has leveraged the relationships fostered with other utility leaders through FMPA to oversee significant reliability improvements for Bartow customers through system modernizations and upgrades, pole replacements, and regularly scheduled tree trimmings.”
In addition, Hiers has used his experience as a Lineman during the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons to improve the utility’s hurricane preparedness and response for the Bartow community, as demonstrated during the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Ian, the resolution said.
Hiers has also “dedicated his tenure as Electric Utility Director to improving the utility, including adopting a proactive approach to safety, introducing regular lineworker meetings, and pursuing opportunities to modernize the utility’s resources, update its tools, and acquire new equipment on an established cycle.”
FMPA is a wholesale power agency owned by 33 municipal electric utilities. FMPA’s mission is to provide low-cost, reliable and clean power for FMPA’s owner customers that benefit their communities and customers. The 33 members of FMPA serve more than 3 million Florida residents and employ more than 4,700 people.
