OUC’s bulk sales and interchange activities escalated dramatically in the ‘80s and so did the role of its sophisticated load dispatch/energy control center, located at the Pershing Operations Center.
OUC Opens Pershing and Gardenia Operations Centers In 1992, OUC opened the Pershing Operations Center to serve the east part of town. Its counterpart on the west side, the
and water systems, all 24-hour operations
Gardenia Center, opened one year later.
except at power plants, fleet service facilities
Both facilities were built to replace the small,
and the utility’s third customer service center
antiquated water and electric operations/
(including drive-through lanes).
maintenance facilities located on the north
The 22-acre Gardenia Operations Center
side of Lake Highland. Costing a combined
was completed in the fall of 1993 and
$37 million, they were constructed to meet
housed OUC’s Water Quality Lab, internal
OUC’s space needs for up to 20 years.
audit, warehouse, fleet, water distribution,
The 48-acre Pershing complex contained OUC’s computer “nerve centers” for electric
PUTTING RELIABILITY TO THE TEST
revenue protection, water and meter testing, and security.
Helping Victims of Hurricane Andrew. During the
Saturday, March 13, the “Storm
1990s, Mother Nature was on the warpath. In the
of the Century” brought 18
summer of 1992, Hurricane Andrew — one of the
hours of near-hurricane strength
deadliest, costliest and most devastating storms in
gusts, causing outages as fast
Gardenia Operations Center.
Combustion Turbines Added to Indian River Plant
U.S. history — ravaged South
as OUC employees restored
Florida. In the face of that
service. Nearly 30,000
emergency, OUC and its
customers lost power, but by
employees responded quickly.
midday Sunday, service was fully restored.
In November 1992, OUC added a pair of
Swift Response to Erin’s Fury. In the early morning
Within two days, volunteers
combustion turbine units at the Indian River
had filled 10,000 one-gallon
hours of August 2, 1995, Hurricane Erin roared through
Plant (IRP). With three steam generating units
bottles of pure OUC water
Florida, creating a level of service interruption that
and two small 35-MW combustion turbine units
and sent them to the disaster
eclipsed both the Christmas freeze of 1989 and the 1993
in place since 1989, IRP represented 57 percent
area. A week later, nearly
“Storm of the Century.” While no damage was done to
60 linemen, engineers and
any OUC generation or transmission facilities, Erin’s
other workers were
90-mph winds knocked out power to 37 main distribution
of OUC’s total generating capacity. All IRP units operated on either oil or natural gas, a flexibility that enabled the utility to take advantage of market conditions and buy fuel cheaper than other utilities. IRP was also valuable to OUC as a source of substantial revenue from bulk power sales.
dispatched south to help the City of Homestead
feeders — and 52,500 OUC customers experienced
rebuild its electric system.
some interruption in service in the wake of the storm.
The Storm of the Century. In March 1993, a rare, severe wind storm struck much of Florida. Blasting
Erin’s impact was greater than the total average outage time experienced in the previous four years.
Orlando with 62-mile-per-hour winds at 12:30 a.m.,
Charged up about using energy wisely and reducing harmful auto emissions, OUC
Fueling Growth: OUC Expands Service Area to Include Lake Nona In 1994 and 1995, OUC expanded its water
by about 20 square miles. Initially, the impact was
such as those in Lake Nona, to the community.
tested its first electric-powered vehicles in
and electric service area to include the new
small — adding just 73 new water customers and
Then Orlando Mayor Glenda E. Hood said,
Lake Nona community. The area located
287 electric customers. However, the potential
“As Orlando continues to compete both
1993 — taking its conservation program
southeast of the Orlando International Airport
was tremendous, and the gamble wound up paying
domestically and internationally for business,
was slated to become a major center for
off. As a result of the agreement, OUC gained a
a strong, financially sound and well-positioned
“on the road” in a minivan outfitted with
economic development in the region.
community that would become home to a Medical
utility is vital for economic development. You
City housing the University of Central Florida
cannot have growth without a utility that can
rooftop solar panels.
25-year territorial agreement for a 30-square-mile
Medical School, Burnham Institute, Veterans
provide reliable electricity, quality water and
area at Lake Nona. Then in 1995, OUC and Florida
Hospital and Nemours Children’s Hospital.
competitive rates to attract industry and
In 1994, OUC and Orange County signed a new
Power Corp. signed a new 10-year territorial agreement that expanded the electric service area
Page 42
OUC’s reputation was critical to the City of Orlando’s ability to attract new businesses,
Page 43
encourage residential development.”