JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The average monthly electric bill continues to climb, and new data suggests JEA customers are feeling the strain.
According to J.D. Power’s 2025 Residential Customer Satisfaction Rankings, JEA ranked 17th out of 19 midsize utilities in the South Region, a steep drop from 7th place last year. The annual survey evaluates customer satisfaction using a 1,000-point scale and measures several factors, including cost, trust, safety and reliability, and problem resolution.
How JEA Stacked Up
In the South Region’s midsize utility category, public power utilities ranked as follows:
- EPB – 1st (613 points)
- OUC – 2nd (572 points)
- Santee Cooper – 5th (544 points)
- NES – 7th (528 points)
- City of Tallahassee – 8th (527 points)
- Knoxville Utilities Board – 13th (504 points)
- Lakeland Electric – 14th (503 points)
- Austin Energy – 15th (493 points)
- Huntsville Utilities – 16th (492 points)
- JEA – 17th (489 points)
- MLGW – 19th (387 points)
Rising Rates, Falling Satisfaction
JEA has raised electric rates multiple times over the past few years, citing increasing operational costs, lagging electricity sales, and its multi-billion-dollar commitment to Plant Vogtle, the nuclear power project in Georgia.
Those rate hikes appear to be taking a toll on customer satisfaction.
In a statement addressing the decline, JEA said it remains focused on “delivering reliable service at reasonable rates while continuing to improve our customer engagement processes and clearly demonstrate the value we provide to customers every day.”
JEA acknowledged that two rate adjustments in 2025 likely contributed to the lower ranking. The utility also pointed to changes in J.D. Power’s measurement criteria this year, which it says affected its overall score.
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Whatever change that may be, it did not impact Georgia Power, which finished first among large utilities in the south for the fourth year in a row, while FPL ranked second.
The study is widely used by utilities to benchmark performance, identify areas for improvement, and align customer service strategies with consumer expectations.
According to the J.D. Power, rising costs are the primary driver of declining satisfaction among residential utility customers. Overall customer satisfaction has dropped to 499 (on a 1,000-point scale), the lowest score recorded across J.D. Power residential utility studies. Average monthly residential electric utility costs have surged 34% since 2020, reaching $189 for the full year 2025—the highest annual average ever measured by J.D. Power. Notably, bill amounts in Q4 2025 climbed even higher, reaching $206.
JEA’s website says the average monthly bill based on 1000 kWh of electric service is $149.41, including taxes and fees; however, the utility tells Becker the average customer consumes 1060kWh. The total average bill, including water and sewer, is $177.67.
“With energy prices now one of the top concerns for customers, utilities must be clear and proactive with customer communications,” said Mark Spalinger, director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power. “Study data shows that customers expect their utilities to deliver reliable service, provide easy access to information, and frequent updates on outages and planned restoration. When utilities streamline billing and digital self‑service, and deliver timely outage alerts, satisfaction rises even in a cost‑pressured environment.”
The study is based on responses from 127,103 online interviews conducted from January through November 2025 among residential customers of the 152 largest electric utility brands in the United States, which represents more than 109 million households.
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