Together, FMPA member utilities offer the best of community power, statewide strength

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 30, 2012 – The city of Winter Park, Fla., has become the 31st municipal electric utility to join the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), an Orlando-based wholesale power agency owned by municipal electric utilities throughout the state.

“Helping municipal electric utilities work together for strength in numbers, access to resources and economies of scale in power generation and related services is as important today as it was when FMPA was founded in 1978,” said FMPA General Manager and CEO Nicholas P. Guarriello. “FMPA is proud to have Florida’s newest municipal electric utility as our newest member.”

The citizens of Winter Park voted in 2003 to create their own municipal electric utility by exercising a buy-out option in their franchise agreement with an investor-owned utility. The citizens’ desire to improve electric reliability motivated the community to create their own electric utility that began serving customers in 2005.

Community-owned utilities, like Winter Park, offers advantages, such as local service reliability, not-for-profit operations, local decision making and the personal touch of a hometown utility. Meanwhile, a statewide organization, like FMPA, brings economies of scale, access to resources and strength in numbers.

This blending of community power and statewide strength enables municipal electric utilities to provide the personal service of a local utility backed by the resources of a statewide organization. This combination makes municipal utilities able competitors and valuable community assets, and ultimately, it serves the highest goal of making their communities better places to live and work.

“We believe that having local control is the single most important benefit of municipal utility ownership. We are able to make decisions based on our specific needs which are extremely valuable for our customers and city,” said Jerry Warren, Winter Park Electric Utility Director.

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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.