Local plant provides reliable, affordable power to Kissimmee and utilities statewide

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 1, 2015 – Electric customers in 13 cities throughout Florida have enjoyed two decades of reliable, affordable electricity thanks to an Osceola County, Fla., power plant that celebrates its 20^th birthday today.

The first generator at Cane Island Power Park began operating on Jan. 1, 1995. Three additional generators were later added to the site, bringing its total electrical generating capacity to 710 megawatts or enough to serve approximately 142,000 homes.

The plant is operated by Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA), and it serves the Florida Municipal Power Agency’s (FMPA) All-Requirements Project, which provides the wholesale power needs of 13 Florida cities, including Bushnell, Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce, Green Cove Springs, Town of Havana, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee, Leesburg, Newberry, Ocala and Starke.

Benefits of the Power Park include:

• Reliability and Efficiency: The Power Park’s state-of-the-art natural gas fueled generators have provided reliable, efficient electricity for 20 years. Today, the plant’s two largest units, Unit 3 and Unit 4, are among the workhorses of FMPA’s power plant fleet. These units ran more than 85% of the year in 2014 due to their reliability, efficiency and low costs.

• Environmental Stewardship: Cane Island Power Park features advanced environmental control technologies and clean-burning natural gas, making it among the cleanest, most efficient plants of its kind. The plant’s lushly wooded 1,000-acre site is home to a variety of wildlife.

• Community Contributions: The Cane Island Power Park and its construction partners made significant contributions to the local community, including renovating the local community center, building a playground and constructing a new food bank facility.

“Cane Island Power Park has benefited all of KUA’s customers and the customers of all the other municipal electric utilities throughout the state that have joined us in this venture and made it even more successful. I express my thanks and appreciation to our partners,” said KUA President and General Manager James C. Welsh.

“Our 20-year partnership at the Cane Island Power Park has been a win-win-win for FMPA, KUA and the surrounding community. We look forward to many more years of partnership to come,” said FMPA General Manager and CEO Nicholas P. Guarriello.

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Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) is a wholesale power company owned by 31 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 two million Floridians.