Teri Ivaniszyn

FPL works hard every day to deliver the lowest electric bills in the state. One way we keep costs down is by tapping into the expertise of our employees.

Through more than 1,000 efficiency experts, FPL's Corporate Operational Excellence group has found hundreds of ways, both big and small, to keep reliability up and customer bills down, despite the rising overall costs to do business such as supplies, vehicle fuel and health care costs. These experts are employees trained in Six Sigma quality techniques focusing on increasing efficiencies and generally doing things in a smarter and efficient way. Much like martial arts accomplishments, employees can advance through different belt colors by completing training and significant quality projects.

The majority of experts participate in the Six Sigma quality program in addition to their job responsibilities. FPL has employees certified at the following levels:

• Master Black Belt
• Black Belt
• Green Belt
• Yellow Belt

 

Six Sigma Master Black Belt Teri Ivaniszyn has taken part in several Six Sigma projects, including examining momentary power interruptions, the frequency of power interruptions, software analysis and technology-improvement initiatives. She is among several employees with the primary responsibility to provide guidance on quality-related projects. Teri leads FPL's Corporate Operational Excellence group, and there aren't limits to where Teri and her team will look to uncover potential savings.

"Most people don't think of the sophisticated technology that goes into making sure their power is working virtually all the time, and that's how we like it," said Teri. "When people think of FPL employees, they usually think of our men and women in the large trucks out in the field. While that's a very important piece of our company, it's overlooking the engineers and system analysts who are some of the leaders in their industry."

By helping the organization look holistically, Teri and her fellow efficiency experts are finding ways to do things better, faster and smarter. Whether it's a project to help reduce fuel costs, better dispatch crews or install advanced technology, customers benefit from the operational improvements.

"We work to develop solutions to high-stakes and complex business problems and help drive breakthrough results throughout the company," said Teri.

Why is efficiency important to FPL?

The better we can deliver power, the more money customers can save. Our relentless focus on efficiency is a major reason that our operating costs are among the lowest of all major electric utilities in the country. Since launching our Corporate Operational Excellence group in 2004, we've identified millions of dollars in savings annually.

What is the range of efficiency projects at FPL?

Our projects range from the very complex, such as making sure our power plants are operating at the right times, to the very simple, such as giving customers the option to send electronic photos of issues to speed restoration.

Regardless of a project's complexity, each one is based on data and analysis. We are continuously improving how FPL operates.

What is the size and impact of the company's efficiency efforts?

More than 1,000 of FPL's employees have been trained as efficiency experts. These employees utilize Six Sigma techniques to reduce or eliminate waste in how we operate. Since our current quality program launched, more than hundreds of projects have produced savings of more than $140 million. These savings have helped us keep our operating costs among the lowest of any electric utility in the country, despite rising overall costs.

What is FPL doing to make its facilities more efficient?

We've done a lot to make our existing plants more efficient and are building new power plants that use less fuel. For example, we're modernizing the Riviera Beach and Cape Canaveral power plants. These new, highly efficient natural gas units will use the latest technology and will be considerably more efficient than the 1960s-era plants they are replacing.