KUA Board Adopts $154.8 Million Budget

Budget is an 11% increase over FY 2003, mainly attributable to capital expenditures of $24.4 million.

    KISSIMMEE, Fla., June 25, 7:30 pm - At tonight's meeting of the Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) Board of Directors, the Board adopted a $154.8 million budget for Fiscal Year 2004. The 5-0 vote came after a public hearing on the budget.
    The budget is an 11 percent increase over FY 2003, mainly attributable to capital expenditures of $24.4 million. These capital expenditures, which make up approximately 18 percent of the total budget, include reliability enhancements to KUA's transmission and distribution system, equipment inspection costs for Cane Island Power Park Units 2 & 3, construction of a new electric substation to serve the Pleasant Hill Road area, and preliminary design and site work for a new substation to serve the planned Osceola County convention center.
    Customer growth in FY 2004 is expected to rise 3.3 percent while energy sales are forecasted to increase by 5.3 percent. The utility is anticipating a new integrated system peak of 298 megawatts (MW). The current system peak of 272 MW was set on January 24th of this year. One megawatt is equivalent to the energy used by approximately 750 homes.
    The budget includes an increase of 5 new positions. KUA's total employee base will increase from 298 in FY 2003 to 302 in FY 2004 with an annual payroll of $17.7 million. The budget also reflects a market level adjustment of three percent for utility employees.
    The budget also includes an $8.5 million transfer to the City of Kissimmee for electric and internet sales.
    Founded in 1901, KUA is Florida's sixth largest community-owned utility serving 61,000 electric, water and Internet customers in five Central Florida counties.

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