Unit exceeds performance expectations, proves to be a valuable asset

FORT PIERCE, Fla., June 1, 2009 – The Florida Municipal Power Agency’s (FMPA) newest power plant, located in St. Lucie County, Fla., marked its one-year anniversary of operation on May 31, 2009.

“This unit is an operating success,” said Interim General Manager Nicholas Guarriello. “In its first year of operation, the unit exceeded performance expectations and was exceptionally reliable.”

Treasure Coast Energy Center, a 300 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant, generates enough electricity to serve approximately 60,000 homes in 15 cities served by FMPA’s All-Requirements Project. The cities include Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Lake Worth and Clewiston, as well as Bushnell, Fort Meade, Green Cove Springs, Havana, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee, Leesburg, Newberry, Ocala and Starke. The plant is wholly owned by the All-Requirements Project and is operated under contract by Fort Pierce Utilities Authority.

The 69-acre Treasure Coast Energy Center site is located in the Midway Industrial Park, southwest of Fort Pierce, along Glades Cut-Off Road.

40% More Efficient
Unit efficiency, or heat rate, is a function of the plant’s design, its size, the type of fuel used and the quality of its operations and maintenance. The lower the heat rate number, the more efficient the unit is. Treasure Coast Energy Center exceeded performance standards.

“This means the new plant is very efficient. It uses less fuel and creates fewer emissions per kilowatt hour. By comparison, it generates power nearly 40% more efficiently than older, less efficient units it replaced,” said Guarriello.

Exceptional System Reliability
Treasure Coast Energy Center produced 1.6 million megawatt hours of electricity during its 7,725 hours of service. The unit returned to service early from two planned maintenance outages and had minimal forced outages. The unit also operated more than 95% of the time when available, which is significantly more than anticipated.

“These performance measures show that Treasure Coast Energy Center is one of the most economical and reliable units in the Agency’s fleet of generation,” Guarriello said. “We couldn’t be happier with its performance.”

# # #

Fort Pierce Utilities Authority is a municipal utility whose mission is “to provide our customers with economical, reliable and friendly service in a continuous effort to enhance the quality of life in our community.” Fort Pierce is one of more than 2,000 communities in the United States served by a community-owned electric utility, and one of very few who also provide water, wastewater, natural gas, and Internet services. Public utility systems are owned by the people they serve. All benefits from the locally controlled utility remain in the community. Additional information is available at www.fpua.com.

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 2 million Floridians. FMPA’s members include Alachua, Bartow, 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.