ORLANDO, Fla., June 18, 2007 – Providing reliable, cost-effective power is a universal goal for the electric utility industry, and with new reliability requirements, Florida municipal electric utilities collaborated to fulfill the nation’s first-ever mandatory standards.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation begins implementing effective today the initial 83 mandatory and enforceable reliability standards. The standards are designed to enhance the reliability of the North American bulk power system and avoid major failures like the August 2003 blackout that affected 50 million people in the northeast and midwestern United States and Canada.

Compliance with the standards is mandatory for utilities. Corrective measures can be ordered and fines of up to $1 million a day can be imposed. To meet the requirement, 15 municipal electric utilities worked together through the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) to perform assessments and create plans to help achieve compliance.

“The utilities worked well together,” said FMPA General Manager and CEO Roger Fontes. “This process would have been challenging and expensive for each individual utility, but by working together, they were able to share expertise and resources to cost-effectively achieve a common goal.”

The 15 cities are Bushnell, Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce, Green Cove Springs, Town of Havana, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee, Lake Worth, Leesburg, Newberry, Ocala, Starke and Vero Beach.

Standards relate to the planning and operation of the bulk power system. This system consists of power plants, transmission lines, substations, related equipment and controls that generate and transmit electricity in bulk to local electric companies.

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The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) mission is to improve the reliability and security of the bulk power system in North America. To achieve that, NERC develops and enforces reliability standards; monitors the bulk power system; audits owners, operators, and users for preparedness; and educates, trains and certifies industry personnel. NERC is a self-regulatory organization, subject to oversight by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and governmental authorities in Canada.

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.