2019-2020 In Review
Mutual Aid
- August 2019: Planned and executed large scale mutual aid response in advance of Hurricane Dorian.
- Coordinated more than 1,000 lineworkers from across the country in advance of the storm that ultimately missed Florida.
- Coordinated other mutual aid events including:
- September/October 2019: City of Bushnell: customer cutover from acquiring SECO customers
- October 2019: Lakeland Electric: tornado from Tropical Storm Nestor
- February 2020: Gainesville Regional Utilities: storm/tornado
- March 2020: Town of Havana: car took out pole and needed extra assistance
- April 2020: City of Troy, AL: Tallahassee provided mutual aid following bad weather event
COVID-19 Developments
- FMEA COVID-19 Resource Center
- FMEA’s COVID-19 Mutual Aid Statement of Principles
- Established FMEA Weekly Newsletter to members
Keep Connected Roundtables and Webinars
- 7 virtual roundtables (304 attendees), 11 webinars (570 attendees)
- Customer Connections Virtual Roundtable: April 7 (53), May 29 (32)
- Communicators Virtual Roundtable: April 8 (20), May 19 (42)
- Operations Virtual Roundtable: April 22 (59)
- Safety Virtual Roundtable: April 28 (31)
- Key Accounts Virtual Roundtable: May 7 (67)
- COVID-19 Response Webinar Series:
- COVID-19 Response: AECOM: Disinfection/returning to work: May 21 (29)
- COVID-19 Response: Apogee: Next steps in customer journey: May 28 (41)
- COVID-19 Response: Hot Spots: Using COVID-19 Data to Inform Travel and Vacation Policies: June 25 (46)
- Hurricane Season During a Pandemic Webinar Series:
- Mutual Aid Virtual Roundtable: April 24 (126), June 4 (62)
- Hurricane Season Outlook with State Meteorologist: May 6 (107)
- Hurricane Response: Burns & McDonnell: May 14 (33)
- Hurricane Reimbursements: Baker Donelson 3-part series: May 27 (40), June 10 (34), June 17 (26)
- Automatic Help for the Restoration Life Cycle: Arcos: June 30 (26)
Signature Events
- 2019 FMEA Annual Conference
- 222 attendees, 32 sponsors
- 2019 FMEA Energy Connections Conference & Trade Show
- 260 attendees, 10 sponsors, 27 exhibitors
- 2020 FMEA Legislative Rally
- 29 attendees from 12 utilities
- 2020 Florida Lineman Competition
- 12 utilities, 24 teams, 77 apprentices, 17 sponsors, 16 exhibitors
Industry Training Programs
- Electric Utility System Operations
- 27 attendees from 11 utilities
- Power Line Design and Staking Certification Program Level 1
- 10 attendees from 5 utilities
Roundtable Meetings
- 2020 Florida Utility Electric Vehicle - WebEx Meeting
- 39 attendees from 16 utilities
- 2020 Customer Connections Roundtable - Winter Meeting
- 41 attendees from 12 utilities
- 2019 Energy Auditors Roundtable - Winter Meeting
- 23 attendees from 9 utilities
- 2019 FAASSTeR Project Team Members & Stakeholders - Fall Meeting
- 43 attendees from 32 organizations
- 2019 Florida Public Power Communicators Roundtable - Fall Meeting
- 21 attendees from 11 utilities
- 2019 Administrative Professionals Roundtable - Inaugural Meeting
- 46 attendees from 9 utilities
- 2019 Florida Utility Electric Vehicle Roundtable - Fall Meeting
- 47 attendees from 14 utilities
Social Media
- Facebook 2319 page likes (up 379 from last year)
- Facebook 2467 news feed followers (up 441 from last year)
- Twitter 1465 followers
Top Post
- Facebook - August 26, 2019: Lineworker Appreciation Day video
- 46,313 people reached
- 4,143 engagements
- 1,804 reactions, comments and shares
- 6.2k minutes viewed
Notable Campaigns
- June 2020: Essential Heroes
- Week 1 Families: 238,418 impressions
- Week 2 Healthcare workers: 229,149 impressions
- Week 3 Grocery and Other Essential Services: 294,805 impressions
- February 2020: Public Power's Valentine’s Message
- Campaign: 4 days; 5 communities
- 310,713 impressions
- 310,713 impressions
- Campaign: 4 days; 5 communities
- December 2019: Lighting Up the Holidays
- 14 communities featured
- 14 communities featured
- October 2019: Control Your Energy Future
- Campaign: 10 days; 4 communities
- 370,404 total impressions
- Campaign: 10 days; 4 communities
Traditional Media
- Media placements - 52
- Minimum unique impressions - 262,750,550
- Notable headlines
- Florida Public Power Leaders Receive National Awards
- Hurricane Season Prep/COVID Op-Ed
- “Thank A Lineman” License Plate Statement
- Florida Municipal Electric Association Celebrates 20th Annual Florida Lineman Competition this Weekend
- HB 653 Media Statement
- FMEA Celebrates Public Power Benefits During National Public Power Week
- Localized Public Power O-Ed Submitted by Public Power Mayor During Public Power Week
- Florida Public Power Organizations Celebrate Florida Lineworker Appreciation Day
- Statement By: Amy Zubaly, Executive Director, Florida Municipal Electric Association Regarding Hurricane Dorian
- Florida Municipal Electric Association Coordinating Large-Scale Mutual Aid Effort in Preparation for Hurricane Dorian
- Notable headlines
- Minimum unique impressions - 262,750,550
RELAY Magazine
- Volume 52
- Issue 1 - Fall 2019
- Feature Articles 5
- Public Power communities highlighted 14
- Issue 2 - Winter 2019
- Feature Articles 14
- Public Power communities highlighted 17
- Issue 3 - Spring 2020
- Feature Articles 6
- Public Power communities highlighted 8
- Issue 4 - Summer 2020
- Feature Articles 6
- Public Power communities highlighted 9
- Issue 1 - Fall 2019
Advocacy
- 78 unique pieces of legislation tracked
- Passed HB 1135, legislation creating Thank A Lineman license tag
- Defeated HB 653, harmful legislation attacking public power
- Successfully argued before the Florida Supreme Court against the electric deregulation ballot initiative as it ruled on Jan. 9, 2020 that the initiative should be stricken from the ballot
- Staved off legislation (SB 658) that would have set disastrous precedent for acquisition of utility systems
- Deferred attempts alter liability limits and sovereign immunity (potential House PCB)
- Submitted Unified Approach VW EV Charging Infrastructure RFI to Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Behalf of Florida Utility Roundtable Group
- Provided dozens of legislative/regulatory and deregulation updates