FPB votes to approve solar project
/Solar energy could soon be powering Frankfort Plant Board customers. At its monthly meeting Tuesday night, the FPB Board directed interim General Manager David Denton to approve the Renewable Power Purchase Agreement presented by consultants from the Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency (KyMEA). As FPB’s representative on the KyMEA Board of Directors, Denton will cast his vote of approval on the 20-year agreement for the solar project at the KyMEA meeting this Thursday in Bowling Green.
KyMEA consultants told the board this project meets the objectives of the group as they seek power portfolio sources that are reliable, flexible and diverse, competitive under a wide range of future scenarios, and provide more affordable-priced electric service.
In other business, the board set a public hearing to gather input from customers regarding increasing upload and download speeds for high-speed internet service, establishing a rate for whole-home wifi system, and establishing a rate for telephone seasonal disconnect.
The public notice proposes to increase the download and upload speeds of the Standard, Premium, Ultra and Elite levels at no extra cost to customers. Following upgrades in the field and at the headend, staff recommended increasing these speeds to improve the customer experience and to better position FPB in a competitive market.
The public notice also proposes to establish an optional whole-home wifi system at a rate of $9.95 per month for a modem and two access points and $3 per month for each additional access point. As customers’ needs are outgrowing the capability of the standard wireless cable modem, this solution will allow customers to connect more devices in more areas inside the home.
Lastly, the public notice proposes to establish a rate of $5 per month for customers who wish to place their telephone lines into a state of seasonal disconnect. FPB’s wholesale telephone provider charges FPB a $5 fee per month for customers who are temporarily disconnected. FPB staff proposes to pass through this charge.
The board set the public hearing for Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. at the FPB Administration Building in Frankfort.
The board also approved to solicit and evaluate proposals for an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system. This system of smart meters would enable immediate two-way communication between FPB and customer meters. It would increase efficiency, automatically alert FPB of specific outages and allow FPB to send commands back to the meter.
AMI would provide more information on energy usage and deliver more accurate billing. It would also give FPB flexibility for future changes in the way it bills.
In other actions, the board approved an Affirmative Action Plan, approved funding for compensation consulting, approved funding for new transformers, metering units, and substation equipment and approved funding for engineering work to replace two transformers.
The FPB Board of Directors’ next monthly meeting will be Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018 at 5 p.m. at the FPB administration building at 151 Flynn Ave in Frankfort.
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