The Florida Municipal Power Agency recently hosted Department of Energy Deputy Secretary James Danly and Rebecca Michael, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Energy Infrastructure Security at Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, at the Sand Lake Energy Center in Florida.
They toured the facility and met with FMPA General Manager and CEO Jacob Williams and FMPA Board of Directors Chair Allen Putnam.
The focus of the visit was how FMPA -- specifically the All-Requirements Project generation fleet -- responded during Winter Storm Fern in February and the importance of communicating with customers before the cold weather event.
“It was a pleasure to host Mr. Danly and Ms. Michael at Sand Lake Energy Center. The visit provided them on-the-ground insights into how the generation fleet supporting FMPA's All-Requirements Project navigated the recent cold weather” in February, said Williams. “It was an opportunity to share our appreciation of DOE’s support to Florida during the cold weather to maximize our generation and our customers’ back-up generation to meet our needs.”
“We were able to also highlight the unique benefits of municipal power and having a community-powered focus,” Williams noted. “Our Members’ customers were critical in preventing potential outages during the unprecedented temperatures, and the customers really responded to the call to support one another by limiting usage during the three-hour peak periods. Both were impressed by this response from the Florida public power community, and we’re honored to highlight the efforts of our Members in their communities.”
FMPA is a wholesale power agency owned by 33 municipal electric utilities. FMPA’s mission is to provide low-cost and reliable power for FMPA’s owner customers that benefit their communities and customers. The 33 members of FMPA serve more than 4 million Florida residents and businesses and employ more than 4,700 people.
