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December 2006...

2006: A Year in Review

As my first year as CEO draws to a close, I am proud to look back at the company's achievements in 2006 but am even more excited about what those milestones indicate about the direction we're traveling.
As a not-for-profit electric utility, FKEC's focus is to provide the best possible service to you – our member-consumers – and our local community.

In 2006, FKEC made great strides toward providing both great electric service and great customer service. We increased our efforts in both areas this year and are planning even more improvements for 2007.

STORM HARDENING
From an operational standpoint, the major highlight of 2006 has been "storm hardening." First, we further increased our already extensive tree trimming efforts throughout our system and also cleared around all of our substations prior to hurricane season this year. We also began testing tree growth retardants to gauge their ability to slow the growth of trees in problem areas and to decrease outages related to tree branches and limbs.

We also implemented a new "trade-a-tree" program this year that provides a satisfactory solution for home and business owners with problem trees on their property.

To strengthen the system's local infrastructure, we brought in additional crews from Glades Utility Services to assist in our ongoing pole upgrade project. To date, they have replaced 64 poles, 5000 feet of service wire and 40 transformers.

In addition, FKEC has now adopted the NESC extreme wind standard for all new construction and reconstruction of our system. We have also worked with the other local utilities (cable and phone) that attach their service lines to our poles to ensure that they properly maintain their anchors and guy wires. Routine maintenance of these attachments increases our system's ability to withstand high winds.

TAVERNIER SUBSTATION UPGRADE
The three-phase upgrade project at FKEC's Tavernier Substation is now operationally complete. This project added a second power transformer to the substation, increasing capacity and reliability. The high side switch and insulators on the original transformer were also replaced with the goal of increasing the substation's reliability.

LIGHTNING ARRESTOR UPGRADES
A total of 15 station lightning arrestors in Tavernier (9), Islamorada (3) and Marathon (3) were upgraded this year. Failures in these arrestors were responsible for two outages in January and these 15 were replaced as a result.

UNDERGROUND POWER POLICY
A new underground power policy was developed and approved this year, and new underground electric design specifications are currently being developed to reflect the new policy direction. These design specs will be available in 2007.

NORTH KEY LARGO SUBSTATION
With average residential energy usage per household climbing every year, FKEC is obligated to expand its system to meet the growing needs of its members. In North Key Largo, this obligation means building a small new substation to maintain reliable service in the area. In 2006, FKEC completed and submitted a Habitat Conservation Plan as part of the ongoing permitting process. With member service and environmental protection as priorities, FKEC's goal in North Key Largo is to provide reliable power service to all its members equally.

GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE...

ONLINE ACCOUNT ACCESS
In September, FKEC implemented a new online service that provides account access 24/7. The system offers members the ability to view and pay current bills (with a checking account, American Express, Mastercard or Visa), view and print previous bills, review historical energy use, change account details and more, all through FKEC's website. The Board of Directors and staff are proud to add online account access and hope it helps simplify the payment process.

AUTOMATED OUTAGE SYSTEM
Also in 2006, FKEC increased its efforts to implement a fully automated mapping and outage management system. Once operational, this system will allow FKEC to answer outage calls more quickly and will help the system operators dispatch personnel and equipment more efficiently. For our members, the key to the system is the telephone number associated with each account. The phone number in our records links the meter location to the automated outage reporting system, so members are encouraged to check their electric bills to ensure that the noted number is current.

ANNUAL MEETING
FKEC's Annual Meeting on April 22 attracted more than 500 members. The meeting was held in conjunction with the Sun 103.1 Kids Show and was preceded by a Year-in-Review movie presentation set to music, featuring photos of hurricane restoration efforts, community service projects and other highlights of 2005. Board President David Ritz presided over the meeting.

POWER SYSTEM ANALYSIS
Also this year, FKEC contracted with RW Beck to develop a new power requirements study, a new long-range construction work plan and a power supply analysis. The first study is complete and the others are underway. This professional analysis of our local power system helps guide FKEC's Board of Directors and staff in making the best decisions for our community.

EMPLOYEE HOUSING ASSISTANCE
One of the greatest challenges facing all Florida Keys employers today is affordable housing for its workforce. To help ease the high cost of housing in our area, FKEC's Board of Directors implemented a new employee housing assistance program in March.

NEW TAVERNIER HEADQUARTERS
Plans for FKEC's proposed new Tavernier Headquarters continue to move forward, but initial construction estimates exceeded FKEC's budget. Final plans should be complete by end of year so new bids can be requested.

Scott is an active member of the Upper Keys community and is a past president, current director and president-elect of the Rotary Club of Key Largo, is a director for the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce and is co-founder and president of the Upper Keys Golf Association.

In 1994, Scott completed the three-year national electrical course for apprentice linemen to further his education in cooperative operations. He is a graduate of Leadership Monroe County Class XI and completed the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's Management Internship Program in 2005.

Scott graduated from Arkansas State University with a degree in Agriculture Business and Economics in 1986. In 1988, he began his career in the electricity industry when he joined the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) in Washington, D.C. With the REA, he worked first as a Commercial Loan Specialist and was later promoted to Power Requirements Officer before moving to the Florida Keys to join FKEC in 1990.