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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-038 a / . 1/® BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Ac© / d' - o ,3S Peter D. O 'Bryan Wesley S. Davis Chairman �O District 1 District 4 � �'� Joseph E. Flescher District 2 Bob Solari Vice Chairman �' Gary C. Wheeler District 5 District 3 February 2 , 2010 Mr. Armando J . Olivera President and Chief Executive Officer Florida Power & Light P . O . Box 025576 Miami , FL 33102 Subject : Franchise Agreement between Indian River County and the City Vero Beach Dear Mr , Olivera : Indian River County has a Franchise Agreement ( Resolution 87- 12 ) with the City of Vero Beach ( COVB ) which allows the City to use County right of way " to construct , maintain and operate an electric system in . . . certain unincorporated areas of Indian River County , FL" . These areas of unincorporated Indian River County ( County) are included in a 1981 Service Territory Agreement between Florida Power & Light ( FP & L) and the COVB . Also , the County has Ordinance 2007-015 with FP & L which authorizes FP & L to operate an electric system in unincorporated portions of the County . Section 12 of the 87- 12 franchise agreement states "The Franchise Territory will be expanded or contracted to include or exclude lands , " either by city annexation , "and/or the Service Territory Agreement between the Grantee ( COVB ) and Florida Power & Light is amended and the Public Service Commission of the State of Florida approves of such change (s) in service boundaries . " The franchise agreement will expire in March of 2017 if the County does not give notice by March 2012 to COVB of the County' s intent to renew the franchise agreement . During the last several years , there has been a considerable demand by some of the 19 , 000 County residents being served by the COVB to allow for another electric service provider . As the current electric service provider for the 55 , 000 customers in the remainder of the unincorporated County , FP & L would be a logical choice to take over the electric service area currently being serviced by the COVB . Building A 180127' Street Vero Beach, FL 32960-3388 Telephone: 772-226-1490 FAX: 772- 770-5334 1 i Franchise Agreement Letter February 2 , 2010 Page Two This letter requests FP & L to provide the County with information which the County could review , discuss with you , and make a decision on whether to request that you provide the electric service for the entire unincorporated area of the County . If that were the case , we would want to discuss with you how to approach the Public Service Commission ( PSC ) which must approve such a change by amending the existing Public Service Commission Service Territory Agreement between the COVB and FP & L to allow FP & L to provide electric service to all areas of unincorporated Indian River County that are currently being served by COVB , as allowed by Florida Statutes Ch . 366 . 04 (2 ) (e ) . Points that we would like to be included in your analysis , recommendations , and report should include , but are not limited to : ® How would/could FP & L transfer COVB customers in the County when County Resolution 87- 12 expires in 2017? ® What are the pros and cons of such a transfer for the transferred County customers ? ® What changes would the transferred County customers encounter with FP & L in billing , administration , service , reliability , etc . , compared to COVB ? Y What additional economic and financial benefits or disadvantages such as rebates , additional rate structures , etc . , would the County customers experience compared to COVB ? ® Would FP & L provide the same rates to COVB customers FP & L transferred in the County as it does to current FP & L customers in County? ® What does FP & L expect the retail rate comparisons with COVB to be over the next 10 years for common residential and commercial KWH usage categories ? ® What would be the estimated assessed property tax value and increase in County/taxing districts tax revenue if FP & L purchased existing COVB facilities in County? ® What is the fair market value of COVB facilities located in the unincorporated area of Indian River County , e . g . , Transmission & Distribution , and is that the price that FP & L would pay the COVB for such T& D ? • Would it be expected that the proceeds from such a purchase by FP & L of COVB facilities in the unincorporated County would be first used by COVB to defease any liabilities related to such a transfer of County customers from COVB to FP & L? O Would FP & L request a change in the existing the PSC approved Territorial Agreement if requested to , and/or supported by , County? What is the mechanism for this ? Please contact me as soon as possible to initiate discussions and to advise us how long such a report would take considering that the County must give at least 5-years advance notice ( in 2012 ) to COVB and the County must have time prior to 2012 to consider and discuss the report results within the County , with you , and with COVB and/or the Town of Indian River Shores as well . Sincerely , i 4& b . ( 4 Peter D . O ' Bryan , Chairman Indian River County Board of County Commissioners