JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If you live in Jacksonville, your utility bill will go up starting in October.
JEA’s Board of Directors gave the thumbs-up to a rate increase Tuesday morning, citing the need to invest in grid maintenance and upgrades to maintain reliability.
The increase is expected to increase average residential bills for JEA customers by more than $8-a-month.
Despite the unanimous vote, JEA Board Members argued raising rates is not a decision they take lightly.
“We understand the weight and the responsibility that the public has on us. And just know that we take this very seriously,” said Board Member Rick Morales.
The increases on water, sewer and electric will generate more than $100 million in annual revenues for the utility.
Board Chair MG Orender argued those revenues are needed to keep up with rising operational costs, primarily driven by plans to construct a new $1.6 billion combined cycle plant and ongoing upgrades to the sewer and water systems.
“You have to remember, JEA for, I think it was eleven years on water and 13 on electric didn’t go up and the reason for that, they were not reinvesting,” said Orender.
While JEA calculates the rate increase will push its residential customers’ average monthly bills higher than those paid by customers in Miami, Ordener noted it won’t likely stay that way for long.
“Well, right now we know we’re sort of in the middle of the pack with our proposed rate increases. We do believe that all of those utilities are going to do the same thing,” said Orender.
And Orender said he only agreed to approve this rate hike, because the utility made a concerted effort to reduce costs by $80 million on the front end.
Because of the way JEA procures fuel, Orender said there’s a good chance customers might see a much lower increase, or even a net decrease to their monthly bill despite rates going up.
“Of two to four dollars a household. So, the net increase would be less than what is being projected right now,” said Orender.
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